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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 120 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bass — low music
  3. spell — a short time
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. spring — a coil
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. key — the most important part
  10. spell — letters
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. key — for a lock
  13. rule — a law
  14. bass — the fish
  15. spell — magic
  16. spring — the season
  17. key — in music
  18. spring — of water
  19. pit — in a race
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. plane — a tool
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. pit — a hole

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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