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

Word bank: club · season · present · kid · pit · chest

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. club — for golf
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. present — the time now
  7. club — a group
  8. present — there
  9. season — in sport
  10. club — for dancing
  11. pit — a hole
  12. chest — a box
  13. pit — in a race
  14. season — of the year
  15. chest — of your body
  16. present — a gift
  17. chest — of your body
  18. kid — to tease

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