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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. press — a publisher
  4. key — in music
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — a skill
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. press — to push
  9. craft — boats
  10. pit — in a race
  11. kid — child
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — in cards
  14. key — the most important part
  15. kid — to tease
  16. scale — size or range
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. press — newspapers
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. scale — in music
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. key — for a lock
  23. pit — a hole
  24. temple — a place of worship

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