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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. chest — a box
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chip — for betting
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chip — to eat
  20. pit — in a race
  21. tear — to rip
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. wound — an injury

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