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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pit — a hole
  4. lean — thin
  5. stock — shares
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. clip — a video
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. drill — a practice
  14. clip — for paper
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. pit — in a race
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. stock — goods
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. lean — to bend
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. stand — to bear

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