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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. cue — for pool
  3. perch — the fish
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pit — in a race
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. capital — money
  9. dip — to sink
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. kick — in football
  14. cold — not warm
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. capital — a city
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cue — a hint
  20. cue — a signal
  21. fork — in a road
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. dip — to dunk

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