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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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Word bank
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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: season · wake · drill · pop · pit · row · swing · lie

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. pit — a hole
  5. season — of the year
  6. swing — music
  7. pop — music
  8. drill — the tool
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. swing — to play on
  11. pop — soda
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. drill — army training
  14. pop — to visit
  15. season — in sport
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. swing — in golf
  18. drill — a practice
  19. pit — in a race
  20. wake — a trail
  21. row — a line
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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