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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. net — for catching
  3. pit — a hole
  4. net — in sport
  5. bat — the animal
  6. scale — size or range
  7. ground — crushed
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. tear — from crying
  12. scale — in music
  13. staff — employees
  14. net — after costs
  15. staff — employees
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pit — in a race
  18. ground — a position
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. staff — a stick
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. ground — the earth

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