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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 116 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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bound — obliged
  3. tube — the underground
  4. last — finally
  5. pit — a hole
  6. last — final
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. staff — employees
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. bound — certain
  13. swing — music
  14. field — farmland
  15. bound — tied together
  16. rash — a series
  17. tube — a container
  18. field — for sport
  19. rash — hasty
  20. last — to go on
  21. field — a subject
  22. pit — in a race
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — in golf

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