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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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. row — a line
  2. fall — the season
  3. pit — a hole
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. row — to paddle
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. fall — to drop
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. track — a song
  13. kick — in football
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bat — the animal
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pit — in a race
  20. hand — help
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fall — to drop
  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