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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 120 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. tear — from crying
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. last — finally
  5. bass — low music
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. tear — to rip
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pound — a weight
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. last — final
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. perch — the fish
  22. capital — money
  23. bass — the fish
  24. last — to go on

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