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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cold — an illness
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. hand — help
  6. fall — to drop
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. fall — the season
  13. kick — in football
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cold — not warm
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. pit — a hole

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