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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. tear — from crying
  3. court — for sport
  4. swing — music
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. court — of law
  7. swing — to play on
  8. tear — from crying
  9. swing — in golf
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. stand — to bear
  12. plane — a tool
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. pit — a hole
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pit — in a race
  19. capital — money
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. capital — a city
  23. court — of a king
  24. tear — to rip

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