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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. ground — a position
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. key — in music
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. net — after costs
  8. ground — crushed
  9. net — in sport
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pit — in a race
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. pit — a hole
  14. key — the most important part
  15. net — for catching
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — hasty
  21. ground — the earth
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. key — for a lock

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