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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. fine — all right
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. shower — rain
  10. season — in sport
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. chair — a leader
  14. season — of the year
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pass — a permit
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — after costs
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. fine — high quality
  22. net — for catching
  23. shower — to wash
  24. spell — letters

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