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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. clip — a video
  3. pit — a hole
  4. court — for sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. kick — in football
  7. court — of a king
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. swing — to play on
  10. pit — in a race
  11. swing — music
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. clip — for paper
  14. object — an aim
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. kid — to tease
  18. swing — in golf
  19. clip — to cut
  20. court — of law
  21. kid — child
  22. object — a thing
  23. object — to protest
  24. season — in sport

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