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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: mine · lean · calf · bat · fine · pit · land · march

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — in a race
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. march — music
  9. fine — all right
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bat — the animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. march — the month
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. march — the month
  19. land — ground
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to bend
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. calf — a young animal

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