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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 water is too ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. cold — not warm
  3. land — to come down
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pit — in a race
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. stem — to come from
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. land — a country
  14. game — a match
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. land — ground
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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