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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: row · cell · ball · lie · cabinet · cold · pit · nail

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. row — to paddle
  4. lie — to recline
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ball — a dance
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. pit — in a race
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ball — a great time
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cold — not warm
  17. row — a line
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pit — a hole
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cell — in biology
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. ball — a round shape

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