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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 116 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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. club — for golf
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. club — a group
  16. cold — not warm
  17. season — of the year
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. pit — in a race
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. club — for dancing
  24. leaves — to go away

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