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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. spell — a short time
  3. stock — shares
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. spell — letters
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. spell — magic
  17. file — a document
  18. pitch — completely
  19. file — a tool
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pit — a hole
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. stock — goods

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