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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pit — in a race
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. stock — goods
  6. face — part of the head
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a line
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. roll — a cake
  11. pit — a hole
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bat — the animal
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. face — to point toward
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. rush — hurry
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. roll — a list
  22. face — to confront
  23. stock — shares
  24. trunk — of a tree

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