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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. date — the fruit
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pit — a hole
  5. clip — a video
  6. cell — in biology
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bore — to tire
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. pit — in a race
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bulb — for light
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wind — moving air

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