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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. swing — to play on
  5. rule — government
  6. last — finally
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. season — of the year
  10. cold — not warm
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. last — final
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. season — in sport
  15. last — to go on
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — shares
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. cold — an illness
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. stock — goods
  22. rule — a law
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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