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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. chest — a box
  4. pit — a hole
  5. suit — clothes
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. spring — of water
  9. pit — in a race
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spring — the season
  15. suit — to fit
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pitch — completely
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. suit — in cards
  24. pound — a weight

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