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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rock — music
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. land — a country
  8. net — after costs
  9. land — ground
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. net — for catching
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. rule — a law
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. rule — government
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. rock — a stone
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pit — in a race
  22. net — in sport
  23. land — to come down
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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