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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: bore · bat · fan · court · pit · pitch · staff · arm

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. court — for sport
  3. pit — a hole
  4. court — of law
  5. pitch — completely
  6. staff — employees
  7. bore — to drill
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. staff — a stick
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bore — to tire
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. staff — employees
  24. court — of a king

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