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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 116 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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. pit — a hole
  5. wind — moving air
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. plane — a tool
  10. dip — to sink
  11. pit — in a race
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. game — a match
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — a permit
  22. rush — hurry
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. rush — to hurry

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