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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 120 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 · tube · wake · leaves · net · cold · pit · rest

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. tube — the underground
  7. net — after costs
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. rest — a break
  10. cold — an illness
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. net — in sport
  13. tube — a container
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. pit — a hole
  16. wake — a trail
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. rest — what's left
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. net — for catching
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. pit — in a race

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