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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. lean — to bend
  3. fall — the season
  4. net — for catching
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. net — after costs
  7. hand — help
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. kid — to tease
  10. file — a line of people
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. file — a tool
  13. net — in sport
  14. pit — a hole
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pit — in a race
  19. kid — child
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. hand — in cards
  22. fall — to drop
  23. lean — thin
  24. file — a document

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