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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. capital — money
  3. spring — of water
  4. lean — thin
  5. spring — a coil
  6. mate — a partner
  7. pit — in a race
  8. capital — a city
  9. pit — a hole
  10. field — for sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. field — a subject
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bass — low music
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. mate — a friend
  17. net — in sport
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — the fish
  20. mate — to breed
  21. net — after costs
  22. lean — to bend
  23. field — farmland
  24. spring — the season

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