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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. pit — in a race
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cap — of ice
  6. club — for golf
  7. clip — a video
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — to paddle
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. cap — a hat
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cap — a lid
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. pit — a hole

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