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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. wind — moving air
  3. season — of the year
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. pit — a hole
  7. file — a tool
  8. season — in sport
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. foot — a measure
  14. file — a document
  15. wind — moving air
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. kid — child
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. file — a line of people
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. kid — to tease
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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