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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. face — to confront
  3. cap — a hat
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. spell — magic
  6. pit — in a race
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cap — of ice
  9. toast — bread
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cap — a lid
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — in cards
  17. spell — letters
  18. pit — a hole
  19. land — a country
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. face — part of the head
  23. spell — a short time
  24. toast — the most admired

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