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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  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. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bore — to tire
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. chest — of your body
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bore — to drill
  15. sharp — clever
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. pit — in a race
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. deal — to handle
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. chest — a box
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. deal — an agreement
  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