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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 116 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bat — the animal
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. club — for golf
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. club — a group
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bat — for baseball

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