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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  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. roll — a cake
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. season — in sport
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. mine — for digging
  7. row — a line
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. roll — a list
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. plane — a tool
  13. season — of the year
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. row — to paddle
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. lie — to recline
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wake — a trail
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. pit — a hole
  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