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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.

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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. kid — child
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. fine — high quality
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. fine — all right
  7. kid — to tease
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bat — the animal
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. tube — the underground
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. tube — a container

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