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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — in a race
  3. bass — low music
  4. pit — a hole
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. field — farmland
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. field — a subject
  10. bear — the animal
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bass — the fish
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. content — the amount
  20. rest — what's left
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — happy
  23. field — for sport
  24. date — the fruit

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