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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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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: chest · wave · club · stock · pit · bowl · bat · clip

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stock — shares
  5. club — a group
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. clip — a video
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. club — for golf
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bat — the animal
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stock — goods
  21. clip — to cut
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. pit — a hole

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