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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 · chair · fan · bat · craft · chest · sharp · mug

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. mug — a face
  5. craft — a skill
  6. mug — a cup
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. mug — to rob
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. chest — a box
  15. sharp — clever
  16. bat — the animal
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pit — in a race
  19. chest — of your body
  20. craft — boats
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. chest — of your body

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