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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 116 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: wound · perch · snap · cold · hide · chip · cabinet · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. pit — in a race
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. perch — the fish
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. pit — a hole
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wound — an injury
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. chip — for betting
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. snap — to click
  23. chip — to eat
  24. cabinet — ministers

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