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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. spring — of water
  3. bat — the animal
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — in music
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. swing — in golf
  9. pit — a hole
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. spring — the season
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. race — a contest
  15. pit — in a race
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. spring — a coil
  19. key — the most important part
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. squash — to crush
  24. race — humankind

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