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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. kid — child
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bulb — for light
  8. pit — in a race
  9. tube — a container
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. mark — a trace
  17. chest — of your body
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. kid — to tease
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bulb — for light
  23. chest — a box
  24. straw — a straw man

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