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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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468
Word bank
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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. rule — a law
  4. pit — a hole
  5. hand — in cards
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. pit — in a race
  11. craft — a skill
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. kid — child
  14. rule — government
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. pitch — completely
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — a leader
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. craft — boats
  24. hand — help

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