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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wound — an injury
  7. spell — magic
  8. pit — in a race
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. vault — a safe
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spell — letters
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pit — a hole
  15. scale — size or range
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. spring — of water
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. scale — in music

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