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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. pit — a hole
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — an illness
  7. file — a line of people
  8. degree — from a university
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pass — a permit
  11. cold — not warm
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. file — a tool
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. file — a document
  24. bat — in an idiom

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