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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pit — a hole
  3. drill — army training
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. spring — the season
  6. suit — in cards
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. drill — the tool
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. drill — a practice
  11. pitch — completely
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rash — hasty
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. suit — to fit
  18. rash — a series
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pit — in a race
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. suit — clothes

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