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

Word bank: lean · cold · object · kid · lash · net · pit · fall

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fall — to drop
  3. net — after costs
  4. fall — to drop
  5. object — to protest
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. object — an aim
  9. lean — to bend
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fall — the season
  13. object — a thing
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cold — an illness
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. net — in sport
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. net — for catching
  22. pit — a hole
  23. lean — thin
  24. pit — in a race

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