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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pit — a hole
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. pit — in a race
  6. track — a song
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. scale — size or range
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. track — a path
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. clip — to cut
  17. scale — in music
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pitch — completely
  20. track — to keep track
  21. clip — a video
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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