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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: game · pit · jam · race · bark · key · file · mark

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. bark — to shout
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. file — a document
  10. game — a match
  11. pit — a hole
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. file — a line of people
  15. mark — a trace
  16. key — the most important part
  17. race — a contest
  18. file — a tool
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. key — in music
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. mark — a grade
  23. pit — in a race
  24. game — a kind of play

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