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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 120 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kid — child
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. lie — to recline
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pitch — completely
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. bat — the animal
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. land — to come down
  23. pitch — a sports field
  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