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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. spring — of water
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. track — a song
  9. pit — in a race
  10. wake — a trail
  11. present — there
  12. spring — the season
  13. track — to keep track
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pit — a hole
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. present — the time now
  22. spring — a coil
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. track — a path

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