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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. cold — not warm
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — there
  5. march — the month
  6. cap — of ice
  7. land — ground
  8. toast — bread
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — letters
  11. present — the time now
  12. land — to come down
  13. cap — a lid
  14. march — music
  15. cap — a hat
  16. march — the month
  17. pit — a hole
  18. land — a country
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pit — in a race
  21. cold — an illness
  22. spell — magic
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. toast — the most admired

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