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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 120 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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. chest — of your body
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. kid — child
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. dip — to sink
  9. bat — the animal
  10. club — for dancing
  11. pit — in a race
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. kid — to tease
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — a group
  16. chest — a box
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. ball — a dance
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — to eat

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