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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. chest — a box
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bear — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pit — in a race
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bear — the animal
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wake — a trail
  24. date — the fruit

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