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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pit — a hole
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — in a race
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bat — the animal
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. kick — in football

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