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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cell — in biology
  10. stock — shares
  11. court — for sport
  12. stock — goods
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. date — the fruit
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. court — of a king
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — in a race
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. court — of law

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