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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. last — to go on
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. fine — all right
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mark — a grade
  9. foot — a measure
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. last — finally
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mark — a trace
  17. last — final
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. fine — high quality
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. pit — in a race

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