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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. saw — the tool
  4. clip — for paper
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. season — in sport
  7. spring — of water
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pit — in a race
  10. season — of the year
  11. roll — a list
  12. fine — all right
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. spring — the season
  18. roll — a cake
  19. clip — to cut
  20. spring — a coil
  21. lean — to bend
  22. clip — a video
  23. lean — thin
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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