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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: bat · pit · kid · wave · lie · march · clip · foot

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. clip — a video
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bat — the animal
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. pit — a hole
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. march — the month
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. kid — to tease
  12. foot — a measure
  13. lie — to recline
  14. march — music
  15. kid — child
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. pit — in a race
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. clip — to cut
  21. march — the month
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. clip — for paper
  24. wave — with your hand

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