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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. present — there
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pit — in a race
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — for betting
  8. mine — for digging
  9. net — for catching
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chip — to eat
  12. wind — moving air
  13. net — after costs
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. key — for a lock
  16. pit — a hole
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. key — the most important part
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — the time now
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. net — in sport
  24. key — in music

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