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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. cold — not warm
  3. land — a country
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. land — ground
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. wind — moving air
  12. craft — boats
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bank — of a river
  15. pit — a hole
  16. prune — to trim
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bank — for money
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bank — for money
  21. craft — a skill
  22. prune — to trim
  23. land — to come down
  24. wind — moving air

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