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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. shower — to wash
  3. fine — all right
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. shower — rain
  6. kid — child
  7. fine — high quality
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pit — in a race
  10. branch — a division
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. season — in sport
  13. last — to go on
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. kid — to tease
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final
  19. rash — a series
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. season — of the year
  23. rash — hasty
  24. pit — a hole

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