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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 116 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. mug — a cup
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pit — a hole
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mug — to rob
  13. field — farmland
  14. mug — a face
  15. field — for sport
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. kid — to tease
  19. fall — the season
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. field — a subject
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pit — in a race
  24. kid — child

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