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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. charge — in control
  3. chip — to eat
  4. bat — the animal
  5. ground — a position
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. charge — a price
  9. charge — electricity
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. race — a contest
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. race — the arms race
  15. ground — crushed
  16. race — humankind
  17. pit — a hole
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pit — in a race
  20. chip — for betting
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wind — moving air

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