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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  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. season — of the year
  2. land — ground
  3. wound — an injury
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pit — in a race
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — in sport
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. wound — an injury
  11. file — a tool
  12. land — a country
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — to eat
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pit — a hole
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. land — to come down
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. ruler — a monarch
  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