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

Word bank: cold · race · chest · wake · racket · pit

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

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. pit — in a race
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. race — the arms race
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pit — a hole
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cold — not warm
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. 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