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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. spring — the season
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. root — of a word
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bound — obliged
  8. pit — a hole
  9. spring — of water
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. root — the cause
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — certain
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. spring — a coil
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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