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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 120 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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cue — a hint
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. rest — what's left
  7. club — for golf
  8. court — of a king
  9. pit — in a race
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rock — a stone
  13. club — a group
  14. rock — music
  15. court — for sport
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. season — in sport
  19. pit — a hole
  20. club — for dancing
  21. court — of law
  22. season — of the year
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rock — to move gently

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