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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. craft — boats
  3. can — a tin
  4. fine — all right
  5. tube — a container
  6. can — to be able to
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bat — the animal
  10. land — to come down
  11. tube — the underground
  12. fine — high quality
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. land — ground
  15. can — a tin
  16. pit — a hole
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pit — in a race
  22. land — a country
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. tear — to rip

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