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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. last — final
  3. kick — in football
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. clip — to cut
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fall — to drop
  12. clip — for paper
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — a trail
  17. clip — a video
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fall — to drop
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. foot — a measure
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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