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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  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. pit — a hole
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. mark — a grade
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. chip — for betting
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. chip — to eat
  10. pit — in a race
  11. kick — in football
  12. cold — not warm
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. tube — the underground
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. prune — to trim
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. tube — a container
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. mark — a trace
  23. prune — to trim
  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