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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 120 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pit — in a race
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — after costs
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. cap — a hat
  9. tube — a container
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. tube — the underground
  13. game — a match
  14. wake — a trail
  15. cap — of ice
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cap — a lid
  19. pit — a hole
  20. net — in sport
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. dip — to sink

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