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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. court — for sport
  9. spell — letters
  10. court — of a king
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. tube — the underground
  14. court — of law
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. tear — from crying
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. spell — magic
  19. kick — in football
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pit — in a race
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. tube — a container
  24. spell — a short time

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