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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. shower — rain
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. prune — to trim
  9. staff — a stick
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. pitch — completely
  13. staff — employees
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a hole
  16. stem — to come from
  17. staff — employees
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fine — all right
  20. fine — high quality
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — to wash
  24. prune — to trim

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