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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 116 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. swing — music
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. swing — to play on
  6. hand — help
  7. tear — from crying
  8. club — for dancing
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. ground — crushed
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a hole
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bark — to shout
  17. club — a group
  18. hand — in cards
  19. club — for golf
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. tear — from crying
  22. ground — a position
  23. swing — in golf
  24. mine — an explosive

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