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

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. cold — an illness
  3. clip — to cut
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. ground — a position
  6. pit — in a race
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bulb — for light
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. pit — a hole
  13. game — a match
  14. toast — bread
  15. clip — for paper
  16. ground — crushed
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. cold — not warm
  21. clip — a video
  22. bulb — for light
  23. game — wild animals
  24. patient — a sick person

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