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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. rush — hurry
  3. file — a tool
  4. key — in music
  5. file — a document
  6. ground — crushed
  7. file — a line of people
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — a partner
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. mate — to breed
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. key — for a lock
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. key — the most important part
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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