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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fall — the season
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. wound — an injury
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. court — for sport
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. court — of law
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to click
  18. pit — in a race
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. court — of a king

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