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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pit — a hole
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. pop — to visit
  10. rush — hurry
  11. capital — a city
  12. pop — music
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pit — in a race
  19. chest — of your body
  20. capital — money
  21. date — the fruit
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. pop — soda
  24. chest — a box

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