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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. fall — the season
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chest — a box
  7. track — a song
  8. field — for sport
  9. spell — magic
  10. fall — to drop
  11. track — to keep track
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pit — in a race
  14. spell — a short time
  15. track — a path
  16. spell — letters
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — a subject
  19. chest — of your body
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. field — farmland

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