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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. field — farmland
  6. pit — a hole
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. cap — a hat
  9. kick — in football
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. field — for sport
  14. cap — a lid
  15. file — a document
  16. pit — in a race
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cap — of ice
  19. file — a tool
  20. field — a subject
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. bass — low music

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