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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. kid — child
  3. charge — a price
  4. net — after costs
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. net — for catching
  8. hand — help
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. kid — to tease
  12. hand — in cards
  13. charge — in control
  14. pit — a hole
  15. club — a group
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chest — of your body
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. club — for golf
  22. net — in sport
  23. charge — electricity
  24. club — for dancing

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