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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 120 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: clip · pit · land · ground · bay · lie · trunk · bat

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. clip — a video
  11. pit — in a race
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pit — a hole
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — a position
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bat — the animal
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. clip — for paper

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