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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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Word bank
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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: pit · game · stick · spell · wound · racket · net · cold

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pit — in a race
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. net — for catching
  6. spell — a short time
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. spell — magic
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. net — in sport
  16. wound — an injury
  17. net — after costs
  18. pit — a hole
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. cold — an illness
  23. game — wild animals
  24. spell — letters

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