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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. mark — a trace
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bore — to tire
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. saw — the tool
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cell — in biology
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bore — to drill
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mark — a grade
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. shower — rain

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