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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. land — a country
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. cold — an illness
  6. spring — a coil
  7. land — ground
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. key — for a lock
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. key — in music
  13. land — to come down
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. key — the most important part
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pit — in a race
  18. cold — not warm
  19. spring — the season
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. spring — of water
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. nail — for a hammer

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