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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: track · bat · snap · pit · race · bound · bowl · march

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. track — a song
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. race — humankind
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pit — a hole
  10. bound — certain
  11. snap — to click
  12. march — music
  13. bat — the animal
  14. race — the arms race
  15. march — the month
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. race — a contest
  18. bound — tied together
  19. track — to keep track
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. march — the month
  23. track — a path
  24. bowl — a dish

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