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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: wake · row · wound · last · pit · race · pitcher · bear

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. race — the arms race
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. row — a line
  12. wake — a trail
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — a contest
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. row — to paddle
  21. last — final
  22. bear — the animal
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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