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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 124 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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. spring — of water
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. spring — a coil
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. spell — magic
  9. date — the fruit
  10. spring — the season
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. stock — shares
  13. tear — from crying
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. row — a line
  16. stock — goods
  17. row — to paddle
  18. spell — letters
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. deal — to handle
  21. spell — a short time
  22. pit — a hole
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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