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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 116 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. kick — in football
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. ground — crushed
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. file — a tool
  12. ground — the earth
  13. file — a line of people
  14. ground — a position
  15. pop — soda
  16. pop — to visit
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. pit — in a race
  19. file — a document
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pop — music
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. rush — hurry

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