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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. mug — to rob
  3. land — ground
  4. clip — to cut
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pitch — completely
  7. race — humankind
  8. land — a country
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pit — in a race
  12. ball — a great time
  13. mug — a cup
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. land — to come down
  16. race — a contest
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. mug — a face
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. race — the arms race
  24. ball — a dance

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