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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pop — soda
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. scale — size or range
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pit — a hole
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. scale — in music
  11. current — happening now
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. cell — a phone
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. current — electric
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — to visit
  19. current — of water
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. pit — in a race

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