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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 · stick · bass · roll · dip · file · capital · wound

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. file — a tool
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wound — an injury
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. pit — a hole
  7. file — a document
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pit — in a race
  11. capital — money
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. capital — a city
  17. dip — to sink
  18. wound — an injury
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — a cake
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the fish
  23. file — a line of people
  24. dip — to dunk

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