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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pit · mine · row · bay · tear · mate · ground · sharp

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mate — a partner
  6. ground — crushed
  7. mine — for digging
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. ground — the earth
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mate — to breed
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. tear — to rip
  20. ground — a position
  21. tear — from crying
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — in a race

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