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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. scale — in music
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. charge — electricity
  6. scale — size or range
  7. season — in sport
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. season — of the year
  10. vault — a safe
  11. pit — in a race
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. bat — the animal
  14. kid — to tease
  15. charge — in control
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. charge — a price
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. pit — a hole
  20. kid — child
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mine — for digging
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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