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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. game — a match
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. mark — a trace
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. mine — for digging
  16. game — wild animals
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mark — a grade
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a hole

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