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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. last — final
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pit — in a race
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. last — to go on
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lie — to recline
  14. mark — a grade
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. pit — a hole
  21. kick — in football
  22. drill — army training
  23. last — finally
  24. mark — a trace

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