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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: staff · pit · cold · pound · wound · racket · cabinet · bat

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — the animal
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. staff — employees
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pit — in a race
  12. staff — a stick
  13. staff — employees
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. pit — a hole
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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