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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. pit — a hole
  11. cap — a lid
  12. march — music
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. fall — the season
  16. pit — in a race
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. march — the month
  20. ball — a great time
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. fall — to drop
  23. ball — a dance
  24. march — the month

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