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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. roll — a cake
  4. mark — a grade
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. present — a gift
  8. roll — a list
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mark — a trace
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. present — there
  13. pit — a hole
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. pit — in a race
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. shower — to wash
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. present — the time now

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