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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. face — to point toward
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. staff — employees
  5. face — to confront
  6. pit — a hole
  7. clip — for paper
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. race — the arms race
  10. pit — in a race
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. face — part of the head
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rule — government
  15. clip — a video
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. staff — a stick
  18. mine — for digging
  19. staff — employees
  20. rule — a law
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — a contest
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — to bear

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