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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. ground — a position
  3. bore — to drill
  4. scale — size or range
  5. pit — in a race
  6. ground — crushed
  7. degree — temperature
  8. ground — the earth
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. root — the cause
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fall — the season
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. fall — to drop
  15. scale — in music
  16. fall — to drop
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pit — a hole
  19. degree — from a university
  20. root — of a word
  21. bore — to tire
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. root — of a plant
  24. straw — dry grass

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