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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bound — tied together
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. spell — letters
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bound — certain
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — clever
  11. stock — goods
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. pit — in a race
  14. stock — shares
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. cell — in biology
  18. spell — magic
  19. vault — a safe
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. spell — a short time
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. bound — obliged
  24. cell — a phone

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