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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. scale — in music
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. scale — size or range
  12. swing — in golf
  13. pit — a hole
  14. swing — music
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pit — in a race
  22. rush — hurry
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. stand — to bear

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