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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. kid — to tease
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. stem — to come from
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to bend
  13. shower — to wash
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. shower — rain
  16. pit — in a race
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. kid — child
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. leaves — of a tree

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