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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 124 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. firm — a company
  3. sharp — clever
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. fork — in a road
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. field — farmland
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pit — a hole
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. pit — in a race
  16. clip — a video
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. firm — decided
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. firm — steady
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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