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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — crushed
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. ground — the earth
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. game — a match
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. pit — a hole
  13. vault — a safe
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. row — to paddle
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pit — in a race
  21. row — a line
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wind — moving air

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