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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 124 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. fine — high quality
  3. pit — a hole
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pit — in a race
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. spring — of water
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. fine — all right
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — for digging
  19. clip — for paper
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. spring — the season
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. date — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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