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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 120 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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. ground — crushed
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bat — the animal
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. pit — in a race
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. pit — a hole
  24. bowl — to roll

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