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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. spell — letters
  4. spring — the season
  5. net — in sport
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. suit — to fit
  9. net — for catching
  10. suit — in cards
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — money
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pit — a hole
  15. spell — a short time
  16. clip — a video
  17. spring — of water
  18. snap — to click
  19. clip — to cut
  20. net — after costs
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pit — in a race
  23. suit — clothes
  24. spell — magic

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