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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. wound — an injury
  3. club — a group
  4. date — the fruit
  5. cap — a lid
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. club — for golf
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cap — of ice
  14. row — a line
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pit — a hole
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. cap — a hat
  20. club — for dancing
  21. mine — for digging
  22. pit — in a race
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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