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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 · track · hide · tear · deal · current · chair

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  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. track — to keep track
  3. current — of water
  4. current — electric
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. tear — to rip
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. track — a path
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. game — a match
  13. track — a song
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — in a race
  16. current — happening now
  17. tear — from crying
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. tear — from crying
  21. game — wild animals
  22. deal — to handle
  23. deal — a big deal
  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