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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. land — ground
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. bore — to tire
  9. fork — in a road
  10. pit — a hole
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. hand — in cards
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. hand — help
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. pit — in a race
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. land — to come down
  22. bore — to drill
  23. land — a country
  24. date — the fruit

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