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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 116 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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pit — a hole
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. pit — in a race
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bass — low music
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. spring — the season
  16. bark — to shout
  17. can — a tin
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — to sink
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bass — the fish
  23. can — to be able to
  24. can — a tin

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