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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: bat · mark · pit · wake · leaves · hide · clip · ball

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pit — a hole
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. clip — to cut
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. ball — a dance
  12. clip — a video
  13. wake — a trail
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. mark — a trace
  17. bat — the animal
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mark — a grade
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. clip — for paper
  24. hide — to keep secret

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