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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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468
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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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. pit — a hole
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cap — of ice
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. wake — a trail
  8. cap — a lid
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. pit — in a race
  21. cold — not warm
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. cap — a hat
  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