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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. file — a document
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. march — the month
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. cell — a phone
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cell — in biology
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — music
  12. pit — a hole
  13. file — a line of people
  14. wax — to grow
  15. rule — a law
  16. pop — soda
  17. march — the month
  18. land — a country
  19. rule — government
  20. march — music
  21. land — ground
  22. file — a tool
  23. land — to come down
  24. wax — for sculpting

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