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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 116 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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. scale — in music
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. pit — a hole
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. kick — in football
  12. chair — a leader
  13. ground — a position
  14. scale — size or range
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. bat — the animal
  17. can — to be able to
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. ground — crushed
  20. can — a tin
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pit — in a race
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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