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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. key — for a lock
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. key — in music
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pit — a hole
  10. sharp — clever
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. key — the most important part
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. fall — the season
  16. chest — a box
  17. last — to go on
  18. kick — in football
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bulb — for light
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. pit — in a race

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