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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: racket · squash · land · mouse · pit · cell · object · cold

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pit — a hole
  3. object — to protest
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. object — an aim
  8. squash — to crush
  9. object — a thing
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cell — in biology
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. land — to come down
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pit — in a race
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cold — an illness
  24. land — ground

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