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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.

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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. spring — a coil
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. spring — of water
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. clip — a video
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — a friend
  10. spring — the season
  11. clip — to cut
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. squash — the sport
  14. wound — an injury
  15. deal — to handle
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. wound — an injury
  18. squash — to crush
  19. pit — in a race
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mate — to breed
  24. nail — for a hammer

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