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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. staff — employees
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. cold — not warm
  11. staff — employees
  12. deal — to handle
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. rush — hurry
  17. staff — a stick
  18. mine — for digging
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. pit — in a race
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. lash — an eyelash

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