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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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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 · bark · drill · squash · clip · fall · present · racket

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. pit — in a race
  3. fall — to drop
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. fall — the season
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. squash — the sport
  10. present — the time now
  11. fall — to drop
  12. squash — to crush
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. present — a gift
  20. clip — a video
  21. drill — a practice
  22. pit — a hole
  23. clip — to cut
  24. squash — the vegetable

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