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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. mate — to breed
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. stock — goods
  5. lean — to bend
  6. stock — shares
  7. scale — in music
  8. lean — thin
  9. vault — a safe
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. mate — a friend
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. mate — a partner
  16. pit — a hole
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mine — for digging
  23. pit — in a race
  24. scale — size or range

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