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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. ground — crushed
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ground — a position
  8. wake — a trail
  9. net — in sport
  10. press — to push
  11. press — newspapers
  12. tube — a container
  13. clip — a video
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pit — a hole
  16. tube — the underground
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. press — a publisher
  19. net — after costs
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. ground — the earth
  23. clip — to cut
  24. net — for catching

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