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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pit — a hole
  5. craft — boats
  6. ground — crushed
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. craft — a skill
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. hand — help
  11. kick — in football
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rash — hasty
  14. ground — a position
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. pound — a weight
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pit — in a race
  21. rash — a series
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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