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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: dip · racket · pit · board · sharp · bat · land · march

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. pit — in a race
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. land — ground
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. board — to get on
  7. bat — the animal
  8. sharp — clever
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. march — the month
  14. pit — a hole
  15. board — a committee
  16. march — the month
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. march — music
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  24. bat — for baseball

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