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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. club — for golf
  4. rest — what's left
  5. game — a match
  6. club — a group
  7. spell — letters
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. pit — in a race
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. game — wild animals
  14. spell — magic
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. club — for dancing
  17. rest — a break
  18. pit — a hole
  19. rest — what's left
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. spell — a short time
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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