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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — in biology
  4. pit — in a race
  5. march — the month
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. cell — a phone
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. clip — to cut
  12. root — of a word
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to sink
  15. rash — a series
  16. march — the month
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. date — the fruit
  19. clip — a video
  20. root — the cause
  21. march — music
  22. rash — hasty
  23. root — of a plant
  24. clip — for paper

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