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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. press — to push
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. race — a contest
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. press — a publisher
  14. content — happy
  15. row — to paddle
  16. lie — to recline
  17. row — a line
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. press — newspapers
  20. race — humankind
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. wake — a trail
  23. content — the amount
  24. pit — in a race

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