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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 120 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. pit — in a race
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. perch — the fish
  8. wound — an injury
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mine — for digging
  14. ground — a position
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pit — a hole
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. staff — employees
  20. field — for sport
  21. ground — crushed
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. ground — the earth
  24. row — a line

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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