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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. track — to keep track
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pit — a hole
  7. mate — a partner
  8. deal — to handle
  9. capital — a city
  10. track — a song
  11. mate — to breed
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. pit — in a race
  14. mate — a friend
  15. tube — a container
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. capital — money
  18. track — a path
  19. wind — moving air
  20. tube — the underground
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wind — moving air
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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