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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kid — child
  5. land — to come down
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. land — ground
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. pit — a hole
  10. club — for dancing
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. wax — to grow
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for golf
  17. land — a country
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. present — there
  21. present — the time now
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pit — in a race
  24. present — a gift

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