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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a hole
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. mate — to breed
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. mate — a partner
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — there
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stem — to come from
  19. game — wild animals
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. present — the time now
  22. shower — rain
  23. game — a match
  24. mate — a friend

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