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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 120 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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. last — finally
  5. fork — in a road
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. lean — to bend
  10. last — final
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. mate — a friend
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. file — a tool
  16. lean — thin
  17. last — to go on
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bat — the animal
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. file — a line of people
  23. mate — to breed
  24. file — a document

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