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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. tube — a container
  3. pit — a hole
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bank — for money
  10. fall — to drop
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pit — in a race
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bat — the animal
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. tube — the underground
  17. fall — the season
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — of a river
  21. mine — for digging
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. tube — in a tire

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