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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. file — a document
  4. pit — in a race
  5. cap — a hat
  6. last — final
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rush — hurry
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. sharp — clever
  18. game — a match
  19. cap — a lid
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cap — of ice
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. file — a tool
  24. rush — a thrill

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