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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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 bend
  3. ground — crushed
  4. game — wild animals
  5. vault — a safe
  6. ground — the earth
  7. key — the most important part
  8. game — a match
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. key — for a lock
  12. ground — a position
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. stock — goods
  15. pit — a hole
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. key — in music
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pit — in a race
  24. kick — in football

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