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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. mate — to breed
  4. tube — the underground
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. mate — a partner
  7. field — farmland
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bound — tied together
  10. club — for golf
  11. pit — in a race
  12. squash — the sport
  13. tube — a container
  14. club — a group
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. field — a subject
  18. mate — a friend
  19. field — for sport
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — certain
  22. club — for dancing
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. net — in sport

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