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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. present — there
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pit — in a race
  7. saw — the tool
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. rest — a break
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. present — the time now
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pit — a hole
  18. scale — size or range
  19. row — to paddle
  20. scale — in music
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. saw — the tool
  24. row — a line

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