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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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468
Word bank
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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. pit — a hole
  3. kid — to tease
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cell — in biology
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. lean — to bend
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pit — in a race
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. kid — child
  18. rush — hurry
  19. cold — not warm
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. lean — thin
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cell — a phone
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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