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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pit — a hole
  6. bat — the animal
  7. charge — a price
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. charge — in control
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — army training
  22. charge — electricity
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. pit — in a race

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