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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. spring — a coil
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. suit — clothes
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — a hole
  9. suit — in cards
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. snap — to click
  14. spring — of water
  15. row — a line
  16. pit — in a race
  17. capital — a city
  18. field — for sport
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. field — farmland
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. spring — the season
  24. field — a subject

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