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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. rest — what's left
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. mark — a trace
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pit — in a race
  9. mine — for digging
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pit — a hole
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. chest — of your body
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rest — a break
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. pound — a weight
  23. mark — a grade
  24. tear — from crying

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