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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. scale — in music
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. cold — an illness
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. scale — size or range
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pit — a hole
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. pit — in a race
  19. wake — a trail
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. kick — in football
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. jam — in traffic

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