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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. pit — a hole
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. track — a song
  7. row — a line
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cold — not warm
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. track — a path
  13. track — to keep track
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — hurry
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. lie — to recline
  20. pit — in a race
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pound — a weight
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rush — to hurry

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