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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. mine — for digging
  3. saw — the tool
  4. swing — music
  5. game — a match
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. mate — a friend
  9. saw — the tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. firm — a company
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pit — a hole
  16. file — a document
  17. firm — steady
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. mate — a partner
  22. game — wild animals
  23. file — a tool
  24. mate — to breed

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