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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cell — a phone
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — in sport
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. spring — a coil
  8. file — a line of people
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. spring — of water
  13. pit — a hole
  14. spring — the season
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. chip — for betting
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. rash — a series
  20. cell — in biology
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. chip — to eat
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. safe — out of danger

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