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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pop — music
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. pop — soda
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stand — to bear
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. mark — a grade
  13. wax — to grow
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. wound — an injury
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. mark — a trace
  18. pit — in a race
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. pit — a hole

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