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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 116 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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bass — low music
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. game — a match
  5. shower — to wash
  6. fall — the season
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bass — the fish
  10. pit — in a race
  11. fall — to drop
  12. plane — a tool
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pit — a hole
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. shower — rain
  19. object — to protest
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. object — a thing
  22. game — wild animals
  23. object — an aim
  24. ruler — for measuring

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