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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. chair — a leader
  3. court — for sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. face — part of the head
  7. court — of a king
  8. season — in sport
  9. pit — in a race
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. row — a line
  13. face — to point toward
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pit — a hole
  18. kid — child
  19. court — of law
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. kid — to tease
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. face — to confront
  24. season — of the year

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