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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: row · date · spring · mark · capital · pit · toast · clip

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. date — the fruit
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. capital — a city
  6. pit — in a race
  7. row — to paddle
  8. clip — to cut
  9. toast — bread
  10. spring — a coil
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. mark — a grade
  13. clip — a video
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. spring — of water
  17. pit — a hole
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. row — a line
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mark — a trace
  23. spring — the season
  24. date — on the calendar

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