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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pit — in a race
  5. file — a document
  6. last — to go on
  7. mug — a face
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. file — a line of people
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. season — in sport
  13. sharp — clever
  14. season — of the year
  15. last — finally
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. mine — for digging
  19. file — a tool
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. pit — a hole
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — to rob

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