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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. ground — a position
  3. spring — of water
  4. ground — crushed
  5. cell — a phone
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. rash — hasty
  11. spell — letters
  12. ground — the earth
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. spring — the season
  15. spell — a short time
  16. stock — shares
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. rash — a series
  19. pit — in a race
  20. cell — in biology
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spell — magic
  23. stock — goods
  24. pit — a hole

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