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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pit — in a race
  9. tube — the underground
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. shower — to wash
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mine — for digging
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. shower — rain
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — a container

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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