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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. pit — a hole
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. last — to go on
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ground — a position
  11. mine — for digging
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pit — in a race
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chest — a box
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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