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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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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: pit · date · dip · band · hand · row · suit · bat

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bat — the animal
  4. date — the fruit
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a ring
  8. suit — to fit
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. suit — in cards
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. suit — clothes
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. row — to paddle
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. band — a music group
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. hand — help
  21. pit — a hole
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pit — in a race
  24. row — a line

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