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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rock — music
  7. rock — a stone
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. pit — in a race
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — all right
  16. mine — for digging
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wake — a trail
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — dry grass

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