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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. can — a tin
  3. drill — the tool
  4. can — a tin
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. net — for catching
  7. shower — to wash
  8. drill — a practice
  9. net — in sport
  10. can — to be able to
  11. shower — rain
  12. fork — in a road
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. drill — army training
  16. lean — thin
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. net — after costs
  19. lean — to bend
  20. pit — in a race
  21. date — the fruit
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. fork — to eat with

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