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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 120 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. bank — of a river
  5. cap — a hat
  6. pit — in a race
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bank — for money
  9. cold — not warm
  10. plane — a tool
  11. can — a tin
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. can — to be able to
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. can — a tin
  19. bat — the animal
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. bank — for money
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. plane — in geometry

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