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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. object — to protest
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. key — for a lock
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. rash — hasty
  7. snap — to click
  8. rash — a series
  9. key — in music
  10. key — the most important part
  11. pit — a hole
  12. object — an aim
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. object — a thing
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. face — to confront
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pit — in a race
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rash — on the skin

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