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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. fall — to drop
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. ball — a great time
  6. toast — bread
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. can — a tin
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. hand — in cards
  11. can — a tin
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fall — the season
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — in a road
  18. can — to be able to
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — in a race
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. hand — help
  24. ball — a dance

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