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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — in a race
  4. object — to protest
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. mate — a partner
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — an aim
  15. kid — to tease
  16. degree — temperature
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. dip — to sink
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bat — the animal
  24. kid — child

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