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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 116 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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rest — what's left
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pit — in a race
  8. tear — from crying
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. rest — a break
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. kick — in football
  17. pit — a hole
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. stock — shares
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stock — goods
  22. tear — to rip
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cold — an illness

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