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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: cap · pit · ground · stick · hide · net · rash · bat

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. net — after costs
  3. cap — of ice
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pit — a hole
  8. cap — a lid
  9. net — for catching
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. net — in sport
  14. bat — the animal
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. ground — a position
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. pit — in a race
  19. rash — a series
  20. ground — crushed
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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