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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 met the new head ________________?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pit — in a race
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. row — a line
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. chest — a box
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. row — to paddle
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pit — a hole

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