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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. land — to come down
  3. net — in sport
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pit — in a race
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. capital — money
  12. game — a match
  13. capital — a city
  14. net — for catching
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — obliged
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. bound — tied together
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. tear — to rip
  24. net — after costs

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