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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. ground — a position
  3. pit — a hole
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. kick — in football
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — the most important part
  10. ground — the earth
  11. club — a group
  12. key — in music
  13. land — to come down
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. club — for golf
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. land — a country
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. ground — crushed
  21. pass — a permit
  22. land — ground
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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