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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 120 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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. firm — decided
  3. firm — steady
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. snap — to click
  6. dip — to sink
  7. march — music
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. firm — a company
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. march — the month
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. cold — an illness
  19. row — a line
  20. pit — a hole
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. march — the month
  23. row — to paddle
  24. cold — not warm

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