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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. present — the time now
  6. present — a gift
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bark — to shout
  9. ground — a position
  10. present — there
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. pit — a hole
  13. row — a line
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. rock — music
  17. ground — crushed
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. rash — a series
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pit — in a race
  24. ground — the earth

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