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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. chip — for betting
  4. kid — to tease
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. kid — child
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. ground — the earth
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. date — the fruit
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. pit — in a race
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pit — a hole
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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