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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — a gift
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — a short time
  5. last — finally
  6. pit — a hole
  7. chest — a box
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. last — final
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. last — to go on
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the fish
  16. mine — for digging
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pit — in a race
  19. chest — of your body
  20. spell — letters
  21. present — the time now
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bass — the instrument

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