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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: hide · last · bat · jam · face · pit

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — in a race
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pit — a hole
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. last — to go on
  9. bat — the animal
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — part of the head
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. last — finally
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. jam — to spread on bread

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