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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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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 · land · race · rock · last · cold · pit · bowl

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — a stone
  3. cold — not warm
  4. race — a contest
  5. land — a country
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. last — final
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. last — to go on
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — ground
  17. race — humankind
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — in a race
  20. last — finally
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. bowl — a dish

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