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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pit — in a race
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. cue — for pool
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bat — the animal
  13. clip — a video
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bass — low music
  18. pit — a hole
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bass — the fish
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cue — a signal
  23. cue — a hint
  24. ground — a position

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