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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. pit — a hole
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pit — in a race
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — in sport
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. clip — a video
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bear — the animal
  22. clip — for paper
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. mine — for digging

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