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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. mug — a cup
  3. fall — the season
  4. mug — a face
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pit — a hole
  8. tear — from crying
  9. land — ground
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tear — from crying
  12. land — to come down
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. fall — to drop
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pit — in a race
  18. roll — a cake
  19. land — a country
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. mug — to rob
  23. roll — a list
  24. bat — for baseball

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