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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pit — in a race
  5. cap — a lid
  6. court — of law
  7. clip — for paper
  8. court — of a king
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. cap — a hat
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pitch — completely
  19. clip — a video
  20. court — for sport
  21. toast — bread
  22. field — a subject
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. cap — of ice

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