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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. tear — to rip
  7. fine — all right
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pit — in a race
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bulb — for light
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bulb — for light
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rush — hurry
  21. pit — a hole
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. degree — an amount

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