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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. court — for sport
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. tube — the underground
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. file — a document
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. mate — a friend
  9. pit — in a race
  10. sharp — clever
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pop — soda
  13. court — of a king
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mate — to breed
  20. court — of law
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. file — a tool
  23. pit — a hole
  24. mate — a partner

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