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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mine — for digging
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. pit — in a race
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. mate — a partner
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. track — a song
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. mate — a friend
  15. field — farmland
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. kick — in football
  19. field — for sport
  20. rush — hurry
  21. field — a subject
  22. pit — a hole
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a path

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