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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. stand — to bear
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. snap — to click
  7. scale — in music
  8. pit — in a race
  9. fall — the season
  10. pit — a hole
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. scale — size or range
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. game — wild animals
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. game — a match
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. scale — for weighing

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