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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 116 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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. chip — to eat
  3. rush — hurry
  4. ground — crushed
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. ground — a position
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. cold — not warm
  9. ground — the earth
  10. pit — a hole
  11. chip — for betting
  12. pit — in a race
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. club — for dancing
  15. clip — a video
  16. cold — an illness
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. club — for golf
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — to cut

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