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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: racket · cold · date · pit · pass · cabinet · drill · rest

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cold — not warm
  7. date — the fruit
  8. cold — an illness
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pass — a permit
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pit — a hole
  20. rest — a break
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pit — in a race
  24. drill — army training

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