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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. wind — moving air
  3. march — the month
  4. cap — a lid
  5. kid — to tease
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cap — of ice
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. capital — money
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. march — music
  17. pit — in a race
  18. cap — a hat
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. march — the month
  22. pit — a hole
  23. wind — moving air
  24. capital — a city

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