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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. track — to keep track
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. track — a song
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to tire
  10. track — a path
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. press — to push
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. lie — to recline
  19. press — newspapers
  20. pit — in a race
  21. wax — to grow
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. press — a publisher

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