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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. cell — in biology
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. file — a document
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. land — a country
  13. spring — of water
  14. file — a line of people
  15. land — to come down
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. pound — a weight
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. file — a tool
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. spring — the season
  23. land — ground
  24. pit — in a race

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