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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 116 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. mark — a grade
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. snap — to click
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bore — to tire
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pit — a hole
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. land — ground
  11. scale — in music
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mark — a trace
  16. scale — size or range
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bore — to drill
  19. mine — for digging
  20. land — a country
  21. land — to come down
  22. pit — in a race
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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