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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. track — to keep track
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. track — a song
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. ground — the earth
  11. track — a path
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. pit — in a race
  15. ground — a position
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bat — the animal
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — in sport
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. season — of the year
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — to sit on

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