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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to sink
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. pit — a hole
  8. file — a line of people
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. file — a tool
  11. game — wild animals
  12. fall — the season
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. pit — in a race
  15. file — a document
  16. kick — in football
  17. game — a match
  18. kick — with a leg

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