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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. fine — high quality
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. hand — help
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bore — to drill
  11. pit — a hole
  12. wound — an injury
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. bore — to tire
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. game — a match
  17. wound — an injury
  18. game — wild animals
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. fine — all right
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pit — in a race
  24. coach — a trainer

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