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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. lean — thin
  3. game — wild animals
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. game — a match
  9. present — a gift
  10. fork — in a road
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. lean — to bend
  14. clip — a video
  15. present — there
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. clip — to cut
  19. present — the time now
  20. pit — in a race
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. pitch — completely
  24. mouse — the animal

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