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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 120 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. rule — a law
  11. pit — in a race
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. band — a music group
  17. mine — for digging
  18. band — a ring
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. rule — government
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wax — to grow
  24. rule — to rule out

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