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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wake — a trail
  4. pit — a hole
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — music
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. present — there
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. sharp — clever
  12. pitch — completely
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bat — the animal
  15. present — the time now
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — for digging
  19. swing — in golf
  20. pit — in a race
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. present — a gift
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. pitch — a sports field

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