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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pit — in a race
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. spring — of water
  8. race — humankind
  9. snap — to click
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. pit — a hole
  13. spring — a coil
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. file — a document
  22. saw — the tool
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — the arms race

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