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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. pit — in a race
  3. wound — an injury
  4. club — for dancing
  5. file — a document
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. season — in sport
  9. present — there
  10. season — of the year
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — a hole
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. club — a group
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — a gift
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. club — for golf
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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