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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. court — for sport
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. staff — employees
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. mate — a partner
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. pit — a hole
  11. mate — a friend
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. band — a music group
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. pit — in a race
  18. mate — to breed
  19. court — of law
  20. dip — to sink
  21. band — a ring
  22. staff — a stick
  23. court — of a king
  24. staff — employees

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