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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 116 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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468
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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. rash — hasty
  3. squash — the sport
  4. pit — a hole
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — in a race
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. staff — employees
  13. kid — child
  14. squash — to crush
  15. staff — employees
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. mine — for digging
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. rash — a series
  24. cold — the Cold War

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