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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. clip — a video
  3. current — of water
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. pit — in a race
  6. net — for catching
  7. pit — a hole
  8. clip — for paper
  9. current — electric
  10. current — happening now
  11. field — a subject
  12. capital — money
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. net — after costs
  15. field — for sport
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. capital — a city
  18. dip — to sink
  19. net — in sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. clip — to cut
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. plane — a tool

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