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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 120 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. pit — a hole
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. degree — temperature
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — to shout
  14. mug — to rob
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. mug — a face
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. mug — a cup
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. pit — in a race
  24. trunk — of a tree

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