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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pit — in a race
  4. press — to push
  5. file — a document
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. race — humankind
  8. bore — to drill
  9. land — to come down
  10. race — a contest
  11. pit — a hole
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. land — a country
  20. press — a publisher
  21. land — ground
  22. press — newspapers
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bore — to tire

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