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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pit — in a race
  6. can — to be able to
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. can — a tin
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. present — there
  11. can — a tin
  12. sharp — clever
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. date — the fruit
  15. present — the time now
  16. mine — for digging
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. present — a gift
  24. date — on the calendar

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