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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pit — in a race
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. mine — for digging
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. cap — of ice
  17. net — after costs
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. cap — a hat
  20. net — for catching
  21. pitch — completely
  22. net — in sport
  23. pit — a hole
  24. cap — a lid

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