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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. date — the fruit
  3. mark — a grade
  4. chest — of your body
  5. game — a match
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. pit — a hole
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. hand — help
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chest — of your body
  15. prune — to trim
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. chest — a box
  18. mark — a trace
  19. pit — in a race
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. date — on the calendar

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