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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. key — in music
  3. clip — a video
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. key — for a lock
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stock — goods
  9. dip — to sink
  10. snap — to click
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. clip — to cut
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rock — music
  18. key — the most important part
  19. rock — a stone
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. stock — shares
  22. cold — not warm
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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