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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 124 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  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. pit — a hole
  2. present — a gift
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. cell — a phone
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cell — in biology
  8. hand — help
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. file — a tool
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. bound — certain
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. hand — in cards
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. bound — obliged
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. file — a document
  23. bound — tied together
  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