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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. pit — in a race
  3. date — the fruit
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pit — a hole
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — a list
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. hand — help
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. ball — a great time
  16. hand — in cards
  17. clip — a video
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — completely
  24. date — on the calendar

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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