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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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. spring — of water
  2. chip — to eat
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. court — of law
  5. season — of the year
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. spring — the season
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. chip — for betting
  13. season — in sport
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pit — a hole
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. fall — the season
  19. court — for sport
  20. spring — a coil
  21. fall — to drop
  22. court — of a king
  23. fall — to drop
  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