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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. mark — a trace
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mark — a grade
  8. object — a thing
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. object — to protest
  11. clip — a video
  12. court — for sport
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — electric
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. current — of water
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. pit — in a race
  20. clip — to cut
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. object — an aim
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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