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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. shower — rain
  6. march — the month
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. toast — bread
  12. stock — goods
  13. ground — crushed
  14. pit — in a race
  15. cold — not warm
  16. march — the month
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stock — shares
  19. pit — a hole
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. ground — the earth
  22. march — music
  23. ground — a position
  24. shower — to wash

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