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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. face — to point toward
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. fall — the season
  11. pit — a hole
  12. wound — an injury
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pit — in a race
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. fall — to drop
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. face — to confront
  23. mine — for digging
  24. fall — to drop

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