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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. pit — in a race
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. date — the fruit
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. drill — a practice
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. snap — to click
  16. pit — a hole
  17. fine — all right
  18. drill — army training
  19. bass — low music
  20. drill — the tool
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. cap — of ice
  23. fine — high quality
  24. date — on the calendar

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