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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rush — hurry
  4. net — after costs
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. net — in sport
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pop — soda
  13. net — for catching
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. pop — to visit
  20. key — in music
  21. pop — music
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — the most important part

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