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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — a hole
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bank — for money
  8. object — a thing
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. object — to protest
  11. fall — to drop
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. pit — in a race
  14. lean — to bend
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — of a river
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wound — an injury
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. fall — the season
  23. wound — an injury
  24. lean — thin

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