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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  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. file — a tool
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to sink
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. file — a document
  10. game — a match
  11. cold — not warm
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pit — in a race
  15. game — wild animals
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fall — the season
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. cold — an illness
  20. fall — to drop
  21. pit — a hole
  22. prune — to trim
  23. kick — in football
  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