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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 116 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: rest · pit · wound · firm · bat · net · rule · pitcher

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bat — the animal
  5. net — after costs
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rest — what's left
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pit — in a race
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rule — a law
  15. rest — what's left
  16. firm — a company
  17. rest — a break
  18. net — for catching
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. firm — decided
  22. net — in sport
  23. rule — government
  24. firm — steady

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