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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. cold — not warm
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pit — in a race
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. spell — letters
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. pit — a hole
  9. scale — in music
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. tear — from crying
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. spell — a short time
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. tear — to rip
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. spell — magic
  24. bowl — to roll

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