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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pop — soda
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. spell — letters
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pit — a hole
  10. rush — hurry
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. spell — magic
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. pit — in a race
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — to visit
  24. leaves — of a tree

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