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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: pit · march · squash · mate · chest · kick

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. mate — to breed
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pit — in a race
  7. squash — the sport
  8. march — music
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. squash — to crush
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. march — the month
  16. mate — a partner
  17. pit — a hole
  18. march — the month

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