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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 · rest · pit · dip · net · present · wax · fork

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. rest — a break
  3. present — there
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — a hole
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. present — a gift
  10. net — for catching
  11. fork — in a road
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cold — not warm
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. present — the time now
  16. wax — to grow
  17. rest — what's left
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. rest — what's left
  20. net — in sport
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. dip — to sink
  24. net — after costs

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