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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to click
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. row — a line
  8. capital — a city
  9. shower — rain
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. lean — to bend
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. shower — to wash
  18. row — to paddle
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. pit — in a race
  21. lean — thin
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. lean — to rest against

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