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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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468
Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. chip — to eat
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. season — in sport
  6. pit — in a race
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. file — a document
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pit — a hole
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. season — of the year
  21. file — a tool
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. file — a line of people

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