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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. mark — a grade
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pop — to visit
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pit — a hole
  11. date — the fruit
  12. pit — in a race
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. fall — the season
  15. land — to come down
  16. fall — to drop
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. deal — to handle
  21. pop — soda
  22. land — a country
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. pop — music

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