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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pit — a hole
  4. dip — to sink
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. spring — the season
  7. root — of a word
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. spring — of water
  10. root — of a plant
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spring — a coil
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cold — an illness
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. root — the cause
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. cold — not warm
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. chair — a professorship

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