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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mug — to rob
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. pit — in a race
  5. spring — the season
  6. mark — a trace
  7. pit — a hole
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mug — a face
  10. craft — a skill
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. spring — of water
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. craft — boats
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cold — not warm
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. file — a document
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. cold — an illness
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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