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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: key · rush · wave · cold · fall · pit · dip · fork

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. pit — a hole
  6. key — the most important part
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pit — in a race
  9. rush — hurry
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. cold — an illness
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fork — in a road
  16. dip — to sink
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. key — in music
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. key — for a lock
  24. fall — the season

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