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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — a hole
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. pit — in a race
  7. mark — a trace
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. club — a group
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mark — a grade
  14. date — the fruit
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — a law
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. perch — the fish
  23. club — for golf
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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