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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. toast — bread
  4. season — of the year
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. kid — to tease
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. file — a tool
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. pit — in a race
  15. kid — child
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. dip — to sink
  21. season — in sport
  22. file — a document
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. file — a line of people

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