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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. spring — the season
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. board — a committee
  6. cold — not warm
  7. board — to get on
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. spring — of water
  11. fork — in a road
  12. bore — to drill
  13. file — a document
  14. pit — in a race
  15. club — for dancing
  16. pit — a hole
  17. club — a group
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bore — to tire
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. spring — a coil
  24. club — for golf

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