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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pound — a weight
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cell — in biology
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. season — of the year
  11. land — a country
  12. land — to come down
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. land — ground
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. swing — in golf
  20. season — in sport
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cell — a phone
  24. swing — 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