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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. staff — employees
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. clip — to cut
  6. staff — a stick
  7. row — a line
  8. clip — for paper
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. staff — employees
  11. clip — a video
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. row — to paddle
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mine — for digging
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pit — a hole
  22. chest — a box
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. pit — in a race

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