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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. cold — not warm
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pop — to visit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. present — there
  8. board — a committee
  9. spring — of water
  10. board — to get on
  11. pop — music
  12. pit — in a race
  13. spring — a coil
  14. present — a gift
  15. pop — soda
  16. cold — an illness
  17. spring — the season
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. pit — a hole
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. present — the time now
  24. date — the fruit

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