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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 120 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. track — a path
  3. march — music
  4. bound — tied together
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. kid — to tease
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. mark — a grade
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pit — in a race
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — certain
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. pit — a hole
  18. march — the month
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. kid — child
  22. mark — a trace
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. march — the month

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