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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chip — to eat
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. swing — music
  8. chip — for betting
  9. prune — to trim
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. court — for sport
  13. pit — a hole
  14. prune — to trim
  15. game — a match
  16. court — of law
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. root — the cause
  19. root — of a plant
  20. bat — the animal
  21. game — wild animals
  22. pit — in a race
  23. court — of a king
  24. root — of a word

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