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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. chest — of your body
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. tear — from crying
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. season — in sport
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. pit — in a race
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. chest — a box
  22. season — of the year
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitcher — a jug

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