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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: pit · game · temple · clip · chest · rock · arm · racket

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  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. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rock — music
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. rock — a stone
  10. chest — of your body
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. clip — for paper
  14. chest — of your body
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. clip — a video
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. rock — to move gently
  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