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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 116 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. present — there
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pit — in a race
  6. staff — employees
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mine — for digging
  9. drill — the tool
  10. staff — a stick
  11. pit — a hole
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. staff — employees
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. drill — a practice
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mark — a trace
  19. drill — army training
  20. present — the time now
  21. tear — from crying
  22. present — a gift
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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