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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — music
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. cue — a hint
  8. date — the fruit
  9. pit — a hole
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. pop — to visit
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cue — for pool
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wake — a trail
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. dip — to sink
  22. game — wild animals
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cue — a signal

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