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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. ground — the earth
  3. pit — in a race
  4. file — a tool
  5. ground — crushed
  6. cold — not warm
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. bound — certain
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. rest — a break
  11. file — a line of people
  12. rest — what's left
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. file — a document
  15. pit — a hole
  16. last — to go on
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bound — obliged
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. last — finally
  22. bound — tied together
  23. ground — a position
  24. last — final

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