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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wind — moving air
  7. game — wild animals
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. game — a match
  16. pit — in a race
  17. bass — the fish
  18. prune — to trim
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bass — low music
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cell — a phone
  24. fan — a supporter

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