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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bass — low music
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pit — a hole
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. perch — the fish
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. drill — army training
  12. bass — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. kick — in football
  15. stock — shares
  16. track — to keep track
  17. pit — in a race
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. drill — the tool
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — goods
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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