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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. mug — a cup
  4. pit — a hole
  5. band — a music group
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. band — a ring
  8. season — in sport
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. object — to protest
  13. season — of the year
  14. face — to confront
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. object — a thing
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. face — part of the head
  20. mug — a face
  21. pit — in a race
  22. face — to point toward
  23. cold — not warm
  24. object — an aim

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