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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. track — to keep track
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. snap — to click
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pit — in a race
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. track — a song
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. track — a path
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bark — to shout
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — an aim
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. object — to protest
  22. mark — a trace
  23. pit — a hole
  24. mark — a grade

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