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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 116 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. pit — in a race
  5. season — in sport
  6. capital — a city
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a trace
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. capital — money
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a match
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. mark — a grade
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wake — a trail
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. season — of the year

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