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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: mate · bat · pit · arm · land · clip · racket · mug

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pit — in a race
  5. land — a country
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. clip — to cut
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bat — the animal
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mug — a cup
  14. land — ground
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. mug — to rob
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. pit — a hole
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mug — a face
  23. clip — a video
  24. arm — part of the body

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