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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. game — a match
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. key — for a lock
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pitch — completely
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. key — the most important part
  13. date — the fruit
  14. game — wild animals
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. spell — letters
  18. pit — in a race
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pit — a hole
  21. key — in music
  22. spell — magic
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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