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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. net — for catching
  4. shower — rain
  5. rush — hurry
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. rule — a law
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pit — a hole
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. pit — in a race
  12. capital — money
  13. net — in sport
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. capital — a city
  16. field — farmland
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. shower — to wash
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. field — for sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. rule — government
  23. field — a subject
  24. mouse — the animal

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