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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. season — of the year
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. pit — a hole
  7. cold — an illness
  8. season — in sport
  9. mine — for digging
  10. tear — to rip
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cold — not warm
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. tube — a container
  23. game — a match
  24. tube — the underground

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