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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fall — to drop
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pit — a hole
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pit — in a race
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. degree — temperature
  12. last — final
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. last — finally
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. fall — the season
  22. last — to go on
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pass — a permit

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