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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: pit · sharp · saw · court · snap · root · bear · bat

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. snap — to click
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pit — a hole
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. root — of a plant
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. court — of law
  14. bear — the animal
  15. root — the cause
  16. sharp — clever
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. saw — the tool
  22. root — of a word
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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