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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. pit — a hole
  3. net — after costs
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. race — the arms race
  7. sharp — clever
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. race — a contest
  10. net — for catching
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — in music
  15. game — a match
  16. mine — for digging
  17. key — for a lock
  18. pit — in a race
  19. race — humankind
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. net — in sport
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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