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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. charge — in control
  3. club — for golf
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wake — a trail
  8. club — for dancing
  9. charge — a price
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. field — for sport
  15. charge — electricity
  16. bat — the animal
  17. field — a subject
  18. fork — in a road
  19. pit — in a race
  20. field — farmland
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. club — a group

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