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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. field — farmland
  4. wound — an injury
  5. vault — a safe
  6. pit — in a race
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. wound — an injury
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. pit — a hole
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. cap — a lid
  16. mate — a friend
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rush — hurry
  20. field — a subject
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a partner
  23. lean — to bend
  24. field — for sport

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