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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 120 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. chest — a box
  3. fall — to drop
  4. staff — employees
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. march — the month
  7. fall — to drop
  8. march — music
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. fall — the season
  11. pop — to visit
  12. march — the month
  13. staff — employees
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pit — a hole
  17. staff — a stick
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pop — music
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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