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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. pit — a hole
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. pit — in a race
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — for pool
  12. bat — the animal
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. race — humankind
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. race — the arms race
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. cue — a signal
  22. prune — to trim
  23. field — farmland
  24. race — a contest

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