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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · hand · fall · bat · mouse · pit

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bat — the animal
  4. toast — bread
  5. fall — the season
  6. pit — in a race
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. hand — help
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. pit — a fruit stone

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