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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. spring — a coil
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. field — a subject
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. cue — for pool
  10. pit — a hole
  11. cue — a hint
  12. field — for sport
  13. spring — the season
  14. squash — the sport
  15. mark — a trace
  16. squash — to crush
  17. field — farmland
  18. spring — of water
  19. cue — a signal
  20. plane — a tool
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pitch — completely
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mark — a grade

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