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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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Word bank
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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — in a race
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. game — a match
  5. season — in sport
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. key — for a lock
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. key — the most important part
  10. bore — to drill
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. band — a ring
  13. pit — a hole
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to tire
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rash — a series
  18. season — of the year
  19. cold — an illness
  20. band — a music group
  21. key — in music
  22. rash — hasty
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. game — wild animals

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