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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: jam · present · mine · fork · track · lean · saw · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — thin
  7. track — a path
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. saw — the tool
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. pit — in a race
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a song
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. present — a gift
  18. fork — in a road
  19. present — the time now
  20. saw — the tool
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. present — there
  23. pit — a hole
  24. jam — in traffic

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