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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: cap · pop · bat · bore · dip · branch · snap · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pop — soda
  3. snap — to click
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bat — the animal
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pit — in a race
  8. branch — a division
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. bore — to tire
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. cap — a hat
  19. pit — a hole
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — of ice
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pop — music

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