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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. pit — a hole
  3. net — in sport
  4. staff — employees
  5. pit — in a race
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. net — after costs
  8. season — of the year
  9. chest — a box
  10. wound — an injury
  11. net — for catching
  12. chest — of your body
  13. staff — employees
  14. face — to point toward
  15. object — an aim
  16. face — to confront
  17. season — in sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. object — to protest
  20. object — a thing
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. face — part of the head
  24. wound — an injury

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