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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. game — a match
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — a grade
  5. ground — a position
  6. capital — money
  7. ground — the earth
  8. board — a committee
  9. game — wild animals
  10. board — to get on
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. pit — in a race
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. ground — crushed
  20. capital — a city
  21. pit — a hole
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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