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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. craft — a skill
  3. cue — a signal
  4. drill — a practice
  5. pop — music
  6. spring — of water
  7. land — to come down
  8. cue — a hint
  9. drill — army training
  10. pit — a hole
  11. drill — the tool
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. cue — for pool
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. craft — boats
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pit — in a race
  21. branch — a division
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. pop — soda

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