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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. rock — music
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. fall — the season
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. object — a thing
  13. rock — a stone
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. object — an aim
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — hurry
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. fall — to drop
  22. object — to protest
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — in a race

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