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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. hand — in cards
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. perch — the fish
  5. lean — to bend
  6. kick — in football
  7. cue — a hint
  8. hand — help
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cue — a signal
  12. lean — thin
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. pit — a hole
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. cue — for pool
  21. capital — a city
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. capital — money

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