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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. pit — a hole
  5. mug — a cup
  6. current — of water
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pit — in a race
  10. current — electric
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. pop — to visit
  13. tear — from crying
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tear — to rip
  16. mug — a face
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — to eat
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pop — music
  22. prune — to trim
  23. current — happening now
  24. pop — soda

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