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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pit — in a race
  3. net — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. kid — child
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pit — a hole
  9. snap — to click
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. root — the cause
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. sharp — clever
  18. net — after costs
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. season — in sport
  21. root — of a plant
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. root — of a word

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