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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. spring — of water
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. spring — a coil
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. last — to go on
  14. scale — size or range
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pit — in a race
  18. last — final
  19. last — finally
  20. spring — the season
  21. scale — in music
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. mine — for digging
  24. patient — a sick person

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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