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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. kick — in football
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — to recline
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. tube — the underground
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — in a race
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — for digging
  14. tube — a container
  15. rest — a break
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. pound — a weight
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. rest — what's left
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. kick — with a leg

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