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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 116 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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. wake — a trail
  3. race — a contest
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. scale — size or range
  9. race — humankind
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — help
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. scale — in music
  17. kick — in football
  18. pit — a hole
  19. dip — to sink
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pit — in a race

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