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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. pit — a hole
  3. prune — to trim
  4. hand — in cards
  5. race — a contest
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. degree — from a university
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. race — humankind
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. degree — temperature
  14. kick — in football
  15. prune — to trim
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. race — the arms race
  19. pit — in a race
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. hand — help

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