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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: track · bear · racket · snap · fine · pit · cold · wound

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. fine — high quality
  9. track — a path
  10. track — a song
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. fine — all right
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. track — to keep track
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. pit — a hole
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to click
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bear — the animal

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