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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. spring — a coil
  4. fall — the season
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. fall — to drop
  8. swing — in golf
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spring — of water
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — there
  14. cold — not warm
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pit — a hole
  18. swing — to play on
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. swing — music
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. spring — the season
  23. rush — hurry
  24. pit — in a race

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