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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pit — a hole
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. march — music
  11. sharp — clever
  12. chip — to eat
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. march — the month
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. chip — for betting
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. march — the month
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. pit — in a race
  24. coach — a trainer

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