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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. track — to keep track
  4. last — finally
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. last — final
  7. pit — in a race
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. track — a song
  12. roll — a list
  13. track — a path
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. game — a match
  16. pit — a hole
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. chair — a leader
  20. row — to paddle
  21. roll — a cake
  22. last — to go on
  23. row — a line
  24. row — a quarrel

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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