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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 120 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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. pit — a hole
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. field — farmland
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. cold — an illness
  12. field — a subject
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. vault — a safe
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. field — for sport
  20. land — ground
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. shower — rain
  24. lash — to lash out

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