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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. foot — a measure
  6. pit — in a race
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rush — hurry
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — to tire
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — to grow

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