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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. season — in sport
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — a group
  6. dip — to sink
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. cell — a phone
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. season — of the year
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. cold — an illness
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. pit — a hole
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. club — for golf
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pit — in a race

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