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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pop — soda
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — low music
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bass — the fish
  9. land — ground
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pit — in a race
  13. bear — the animal
  14. land — to come down
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. pop — to visit
  18. rule — a law
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. pop — music
  22. land — a country
  23. rule — government
  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