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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. spell — magic
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. kick — in football
  7. spring — of water
  8. file — a tool
  9. pit — in a race
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. file — a document
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spring — a coil
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. spring — the season
  20. spell — letters
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. pitch — completely
  23. wake — a trail
  24. pitch — a sports field

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