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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. game — a match
  9. pit — a hole
  10. tube — the underground
  11. pit — in a race
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cap — a hat
  19. tube — a container
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. wind — moving air

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