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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. field — a subject
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bass — the fish
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cap — a lid
  8. field — for sport
  9. row — a line
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. sharp — clever
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cap — a hat
  14. field — farmland
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pit — a hole
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. stem — to come from
  20. row — to paddle
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bass — low music
  23. cap — of ice
  24. stem — a stem cell

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