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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pop — soda
  6. hand — help
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pop — to visit
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a hat
  13. land — a country
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — a stone
  16. cap — a lid
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. hand — in cards
  22. pop — music
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cold — an illness

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