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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. prune — to trim
  5. key — for a lock
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. key — the most important part
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. clip — for paper
  10. key — in music
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. deal — to handle
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. cap — a hat
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a lid
  20. mine — for digging
  21. clip — a video
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. pit — in a 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