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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. pit — a hole
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. march — the month
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. land — a country
  9. wake — a trail
  10. pit — in a race
  11. row — to paddle
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. dip — to sink
  14. row — a line
  15. season — of the year
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — in sport
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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