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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. ground — a position
  3. tube — the underground
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. tube — a container
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — a hole
  9. season — of the year
  10. pitch — completely
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. season — in sport
  13. ground — the earth
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pitch — a sports field

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