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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 116 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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. fall — to drop
  3. row — to paddle
  4. fall — the season
  5. band — a ring
  6. wound — an injury
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. game — a match
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pit — a hole
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. fall — to drop
  16. band — a music group
  17. firm — steady
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. firm — a company
  21. wound — an injury
  22. firm — decided
  23. row — a line
  24. band — a rubber band

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