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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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. land — ground
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mine — for digging
  5. land — a country
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. spring — the season
  11. board — to get on
  12. land — to come down
  13. spring — of water
  14. board — a committee
  15. spell — magic
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. spell — letters
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pit — in a race
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spring — a coil

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