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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. row — a line
  3. bound — tied together
  4. pit — a hole
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bound — certain
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. pit — in a race
  16. bound — obliged
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a committee
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. ground — crushed
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. row — to paddle
  24. sharp — clever

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