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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. tube — the underground
  3. chest — of your body
  4. tube — a container
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. date — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. chest — a box
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. pit — a hole
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. field — a subject
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. field — for sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — clever
  22. field — farmland
  23. prune — to trim
  24. date — on the calendar

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