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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 · rest · court · file · last · bound · date · bat

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — in a race
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bound — tied together
  5. file — a document
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — final
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. last — finally
  12. bound — obliged
  13. court — of a king
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bound — certain
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rest — a break
  20. file — a tool
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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