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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 · sharp · rush · cold · object · track · pound · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. track — a path
  6. pit — in a race
  7. game — a match
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. rush — hurry
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a song
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. object — a thing
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. object — an aim
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. game — wild animals
  22. sharp — clever
  23. object — to protest
  24. cold — the Cold War

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