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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: jam · pit · chip · trunk · sharp · cold · bat · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. bat — the animal
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cold — not warm
  10. chip — for betting
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a hole
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. chip — to eat
  22. cold — an illness
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. sharp — with an edge

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