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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. sharp — clever
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — magic
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pit — in a race
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spell — letters
  17. chest — a box
  18. temple — side of the head

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