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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: wound · calf · row · cold · rest · pit · racket · coach

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. racket — a loud noise
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. wound — an injury
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. pit — a hole
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rest — a break
  10. row — to paddle
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. cold — an illness
  14. row — a line
  15. pit — in a race
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cold — not warm
  23. calf — a young animal
  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