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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. press — a publisher
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. pit — in a race
  6. press — to push
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. press — newspapers
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — of ice
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cap — a lid
  16. pit — a hole
  17. dip — to sink
  18. season — of the year
  19. date — the fruit
  20. mine — for digging
  21. season — in sport
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. game — a match
  24. date — on the calendar

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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