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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. net — in sport
  3. branch — a division
  4. spring — of water
  5. can — to be able to
  6. track — a song
  7. pit — a hole
  8. track — to keep track
  9. root — the cause
  10. net — for catching
  11. track — a path
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. can — a tin
  15. pit — in a race
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. net — after costs
  20. can — a tin
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mine — for digging
  24. spring — the season

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