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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. spell — a short time
  3. branch — a division
  4. pit — a hole
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — shares
  7. row — to paddle
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. rest — what's left
  10. spell — letters
  11. pit — in a race
  12. rest — a break
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cap — a lid
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. spell — magic
  17. row — a line
  18. cap — a hat
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. rest — what's left
  21. game — a match
  22. cap — of ice
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. stock — a soup base

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