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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. charge — a price
  3. pit — in a race
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. lean — thin
  6. race — the arms race
  7. chair — a leader
  8. tear — from crying
  9. hand — in cards
  10. race — a contest
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. charge — in control
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. lean — to bend
  18. hand — help
  19. season — of the year
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. charge — electricity
  23. season — in sport
  24. race — humankind

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