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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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Word bank
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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. pit — in a race
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wind — moving air
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. object — a thing
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. pitch — completely
  16. object — an aim
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pit — a hole
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chair — a leader
  23. mine — for digging
  24. spring — the season

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