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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: racket · pit · bark · bat · hide · pitcher · pitch · last

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. last — finally
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pit — in a race
  14. last — to go on
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bark — to shout
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. last — final

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