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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. land — to come down
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. object — to protest
  7. land — ground
  8. spell — letters
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — of ice
  12. object — a thing
  13. pit — in a race
  14. land — a country
  15. cap — a hat
  16. spell — a short time
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. cold — an illness
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. spell — magic
  24. object — an aim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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