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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. object — to protest
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. object — an aim
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pit — in a race
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. clip — a video
  15. pit — a hole
  16. bound — certain
  17. spring — of water
  18. object — a thing
  19. spring — a coil
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stand — to bear
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bat — the animal
  24. stand — on your feet

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