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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. swing — in golf
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. shower — to wash
  5. swing — to play on
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. pit — in a race
  8. scale — in music
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. chest — a box
  11. season — in sport
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. swing — music
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. chest — of your body
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — of the year
  21. shower — rain
  22. wake — a trail
  23. scale — size or range
  24. mouse — for a computer

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