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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  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 hole
  2. kid — to tease
  3. court — of a king
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. row — a line
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. row — to paddle
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. fall — the season
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. net — after costs
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. net — in sport
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. net — for catching
  21. kid — child
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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