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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. race — humankind
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. bark — to shout
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. fall — to drop
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. staff — employees
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. staff — a stick
  14. date — the fruit
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. staff — employees
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. race — a contest
  20. tube — a container
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pit — in a race
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bark — 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