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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. net — for catching
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pit — in a race
  6. mug — a cup
  7. degree — from a university
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. chest — a box
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. net — after costs
  17. mug — a face
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. degree — temperature
  20. chest — of your body
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. net — in sport
  24. mug — to rob

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