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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. dip — to sink
  3. squash — the sport
  4. clip — to cut
  5. land — ground
  6. clip — for paper
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. squash — to crush
  9. pit — in a race
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. clip — a video
  14. fork — in a road
  15. land — a country
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. march — music
  18. land — to come down
  19. march — the month
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. pit — a hole
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. march — the month

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