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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. lean — thin
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. squash — to crush
  6. rest — what's left
  7. court — of a king
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. spring — a coil
  11. court — for sport
  12. lean — to bend
  13. rest — a break
  14. squash — the sport
  15. spring — the season
  16. court — of law
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. pit — in a race
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. spring — of water
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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