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

Word bank: pit · mine · prune · cap · kid · jam · mark · wind

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cap — of ice
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mine — for digging
  9. kid — child
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. cap — a hat
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pit — in a race
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pit — a hole

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