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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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468
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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — in a race
  4. charge — electricity
  5. cold — not warm
  6. clip — for paper
  7. drill — the tool
  8. charge — a price
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. drill — a practice
  14. fork — in a road
  15. drill — army training
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. charge — in control
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. clip — a video
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to click

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