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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 120 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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. field — for sport
  6. march — the month
  7. pit — in a race
  8. field — farmland
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. march — music
  11. shower — rain
  12. pit — a hole
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — a position
  16. field — a subject
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. march — the month
  20. key — the most important part
  21. ground — the earth
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. key — for a lock

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