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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: suit · prune · wound · bat · mug · cold · kick · pit

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. suit — clothes
  5. pit — in a race
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mug — to rob
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wound — an injury
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mug — a face
  17. pit — a hole
  18. suit — to fit
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. suit — in cards
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. mug — a cup
  24. prune — the fruit

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