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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. march — music
  3. pit — in a race
  4. last — to go on
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. march — the month
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. ground — a position
  11. lie — to recline
  12. pit — a hole
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bore — to tire
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. march — the month
  18. lie — an untruth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com