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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 120 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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — in a race
  3. rash — hasty
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cell — a phone
  7. mate — a partner
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. rash — a series
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. pit — a hole
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. drill — the tool
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a friend
  20. staff — a stick
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — army training
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cell — in biology

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