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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. fall — the season
  3. ground — a position
  4. row — to paddle
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. row — a line
  7. ground — the earth
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. clip — a video
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — a group
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fall — to drop
  17. club — for dancing
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pit — in a race
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. ground — crushed
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — shares

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