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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 met the new head ________________?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bound — tied together
  4. pit — a hole
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pit — in a race
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — an aim
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. kick — in football
  12. wound — an injury
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. file — a document
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bound — certain
  17. file — a tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. bound — obliged
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. bear — the animal
  24. file — a line of people

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