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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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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: last · pit · clip · racket · ball · chip · stick · chest

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chest — of your body
  6. last — to go on
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. chip — for betting
  10. clip — for paper
  11. ball — a great time
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. ball — a dance
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. pit — in a race
  17. clip — a video
  18. last — final
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. chest — a box
  22. pit — a hole
  23. last — finally
  24. clip — to cut

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