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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 124 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pit — a hole
  4. season — of the year
  5. mine — for digging
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. bear — the animal
  8. net — for catching
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. net — in sport
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bear — the animal
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — a cake
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. last — final
  20. bat — the animal
  21. net — after costs
  22. last — to go on
  23. season — in sport
  24. last — finally

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