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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. land — to come down
  6. key — in music
  7. date — the fruit
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pit — a hole
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. key — the most important part
  14. clip — a video
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. key — for a lock
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. snap — to click
  19. land — ground
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bat — the animal
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. land — a country

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