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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 120 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. ground — crushed
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. suit — in cards
  6. pit — in a race
  7. ground — a position
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pit — a hole
  13. ground — the earth
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. club — for golf
  16. shower — rain
  17. club — a group
  18. suit — to fit
  19. suit — clothes
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. game — wild animals
  24. nail — for a hammer

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