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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pit — a hole
  4. file — a tool
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — for dancing
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. file — a line of people
  12. club — a group
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. season — in sport
  18. season — of the year
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. file — a document
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pit — in a race

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