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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. can — a tin
  5. roll — a cake
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. roll — a list
  11. pit — in a race
  12. lean — thin
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. can — to be able to
  16. can — a tin
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. pit — a hole
  22. chair — a leader
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hand — in cards

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