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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  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. mine — belonging to me
  2. cap — a hat
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pop — soda
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cap — of ice
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. pop — to visit
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. pit — in a race
  15. fine — high quality
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. fine — all right
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. field — for sport
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. pop — music
  23. cap — a lid
  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