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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. last — final
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. root — of a plant
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — the cause
  11. bass — low music
  12. mark — a trace
  13. pit — in a race
  14. mark — a grade
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bass — the fish
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. wax — to grow
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pit — a hole
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. lash — an eyelash

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