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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. kick — in football
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. net — after costs
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cold — not warm
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. cold — an illness
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. fall — the season

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