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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. march — the month
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. march — music
  10. pit — in a race
  11. march — the month
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. can — a tin
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — a hole
  18. ball — a great time
  19. can — a tin
  20. mine — for digging
  21. ball — a dance
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. rash — a series
  24. ball — a round shape

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