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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. branch — a division
  3. suit — to fit
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pit — a hole
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. suit — in cards
  10. object — to protest
  11. squash — the sport
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wound — an injury
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. sharp — clever
  19. suit — clothes
  20. object — a thing
  21. pit — in a race
  22. mine — for digging
  23. object — an aim
  24. mine — an explosive

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