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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. ball — a great time
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. spring — a coil
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. ball — a dance
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pit — a hole
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. firm — steady
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. spring — the season
  21. firm — decided
  22. spring — of water
  23. firm — a company
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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