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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. clip — a video
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pit — in a race
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bat — the animal
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. clip — to cut
  15. club — for dancing
  16. pit — a hole
  17. club — a group
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. clip — for paper
  23. prune — to trim
  24. mouse — for a computer

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