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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. land — ground
  6. mug — a cup
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bass — low music
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. land — to come down
  12. mug — to rob
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cap — a hat
  15. ground — the earth
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mug — a face
  18. cap — of ice
  19. land — a country
  20. ground — a position
  21. pit — in a race
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cap — a lid

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