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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. date — the fruit
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. mine — for digging
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tube — the underground
  9. wound — an injury
  10. season — in sport
  11. tube — a container
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. season — of the year
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. pit — a hole
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. fall — the season

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