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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: bay · wound · snap · pit · racket · tube · content · court

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pit — in a race
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. wound — an injury
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. content — happy
  8. court — of a king
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. court — for sport
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. court — of law
  17. tube — the underground
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pit — a hole
  21. wound — an injury
  22. content — the amount
  23. tube — a container
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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