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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bore — to drill
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stock — shares
  6. hand — help
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. ground — a position
  9. tear — to rip
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. tear — from crying
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. pit — in a race
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. plane — a tool
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. stock — goods
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bore — to tire
  21. ground — the earth
  22. snap — to click
  23. pit — a hole
  24. plane — in geometry

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