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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pit — a hole
  7. rest — a break
  8. pound — a weight
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. pit — in a race
  11. rule — a law
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rule — government
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — a container
  20. track — a path
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. track — to keep track
  23. rest — what's left
  24. track — a song

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