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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mark — a grade
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pit — a hole
  6. game — wild animals
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. wind — moving air
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. mark — a trace
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. game — a match
  18. fork — in a road
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. cold — the Cold War

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