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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. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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. land — to come down
  4. race — humankind
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. land — ground
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. capital — a city
  9. stem — to come from
  10. capital — money
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. race — the arms race
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. pit — in a race
  16. land — a country
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. kid — to tease
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. race — a contest
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. kid — child

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