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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. spell — a short time
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. degree — temperature
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stand — to bear
  8. pit — a hole
  9. bark — to shout
  10. pit — in a race
  11. spell — letters
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. degree — from a university
  14. spell — magic
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — after costs
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stock — goods
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. stock — shares

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