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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. race — a contest
  4. pop — music
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chest — of your body
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. cold — an illness
  10. chest — a box
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pop — soda
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. game — a match
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. pop — to visit
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. race — humankind
  23. chest — of your body
  24. game — wild animals

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