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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 120 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. can — a tin
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wound — an injury
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. pit — in a race
  10. can — a tin
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spring — a coil
  21. file — a document
  22. wound — an injury
  23. file — a tool
  24. can — to be able to

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