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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 116 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: ball · rest · pit · row · chip · kick

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  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. kick — in football
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. ball — a dance
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. pit — in a race
  6. ball — a great time
  7. chip — for betting
  8. rest — a break
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. row — a line
  13. rest — what's left
  14. chip — to eat
  15. pit — a hole
  16. rest — what's left
  17. ball — a round shape
  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