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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: pit · land · kick · pitcher · bulb · bat · clip · lean

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. land — a country
  4. land — ground
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. lean — to bend
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — for light
  10. clip — a video
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pit — in a race
  17. bat — the animal
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. land — to come down
  20. kick — in football
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pit — a hole
  23. clip — to cut
  24. lean — thin

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