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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. drill — army training
  5. pit — a hole
  6. drill — the tool
  7. court — of a king
  8. row — a line
  9. suit — in cards
  10. suit — clothes
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. fall — to drop
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. court — of law
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. pit — in a race
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. drill — a practice
  22. row — to paddle
  23. court — for sport
  24. suit — to fit

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