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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  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. mate — a friend
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. dip — to sink
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. pit — a hole
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. mate — to breed
  14. clip — a video
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bass — the fish
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bass — low music
  23. kick — in football
  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