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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bound — certain
  4. season — of the year
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bound — obliged
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pit — in a race
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. foot — a measure
  17. pit — a hole
  18. clip — to cut
  19. season — in sport
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. clip — a video
  24. straw — a straw man

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