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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. band — a ring
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. toast — bread
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. wound — an injury
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a hole
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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