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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. pit — a hole
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. net — for catching
  6. season — in sport
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. season — of the year
  11. sharp — clever
  12. game — a match
  13. net — in sport
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. net — after costs
  17. game — wild animals
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. pit — in a race
  20. mine — for digging
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. mine — belonging to me

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