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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bat — the animal
  3. press — to push
  4. pit — in a race
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. capital — a city
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pit — a hole
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. capital — money
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — for betting
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. press — newspapers
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. press — a publisher
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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