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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. fine — high quality
  3. field — farmland
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — to sink
  7. field — for sport
  8. branch — a division
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. fine — all right
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. chip — to eat
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. field — a subject
  16. chip — for betting
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pit — a hole
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pound — a weight

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