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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pit — in a race
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wound — an injury
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. hand — help
  13. drill — the tool
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pit — a hole
  22. drill — a practice
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fall — the season

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