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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. mate — a partner
  3. last — to go on
  4. firm — a company
  5. root — the cause
  6. snap — to click
  7. last — finally
  8. mate — a friend
  9. firm — steady
  10. mate — to breed
  11. ground — a position
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. last — final
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — in a race
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. ground — crushed
  20. stem — to come from
  21. ground — the earth
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — of a plant
  24. firm — decided

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