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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. pit — in a race
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. board — a committee
  8. net — in sport
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cell — a phone
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cell — in biology
  14. net — for catching
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pit — a hole
  17. court — of law
  18. track — a song
  19. net — after costs
  20. court — of a king
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a path
  23. court — for sport
  24. board — to get on

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