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

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. roll — a cake
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. pit — in a race
  7. chest — a box
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. pit — a hole
  11. bat — the animal
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. roll — a list
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. nail — on a finger

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