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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. cap — a hat
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. pit — in a race
  7. toast — bread
  8. court — of law
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pit — a hole
  11. date — the fruit
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. file — a tool
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — for sport
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — of ice
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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