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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. race — the arms race
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. race — a contest
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. race — humankind
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. rush — hurry
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. pit — in a race
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. pit — a hole
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wind — moving air

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