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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bark — to shout
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. key — in music
  9. key — the most important part
  10. spring — the season
  11. club — a group
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wind — moving air
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. spring — of water
  16. band — a ring
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a hole
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wind — moving air
  22. club — for golf
  23. band — a music group
  24. net — in 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