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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 116 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. land — ground
  4. lean — thin
  5. pit — in a race
  6. cell — a phone
  7. press — newspapers
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. spell — magic
  11. cell — in biology
  12. press — to push
  13. spell — letters
  14. lean — to bend
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. pit — a hole
  17. craft — boats
  18. craft — a skill
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — a series
  21. land — to come down
  22. press — a publisher
  23. land — a country
  24. spell — a short time

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