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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pit — a hole
  4. cap — of ice
  5. file — a document
  6. key — the most important part
  7. cap — a hat
  8. key — in music
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rash — a series
  12. key — for a lock
  13. rash — hasty
  14. court — of law
  15. pit — in a race
  16. court — of a king
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. file — a line of people
  19. last — finally
  20. file — a tool
  21. last — final
  22. court — for sport
  23. last — to go on
  24. cap — a lid

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