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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. tear — from crying
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mug — to rob
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mug — a cup
  9. mug — a face
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mine — for digging
  13. scale — in music
  14. pit — in a race
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. scale — size or range
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. prune — the fruit

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