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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. fall — the season
  3. pit — in a race
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. season — in sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. race — humankind
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. race — a contest
  15. plane — a tool
  16. chest — a box
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. race — the arms race
  19. field — a subject
  20. season — of the year
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. mark — a grade

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