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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. pit — a hole
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. fall — to drop
  6. march — the month
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. squash — the sport
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. fall — the season
  14. pit — in a race
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. cold — not warm
  18. squash — to crush
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. fall — to drop
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cold — the Cold War

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