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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 116 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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cold — an illness
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. pit — in a race
  17. chip — for betting
  18. trunk — of a car

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