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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: race · roll · fall · pit · cold · snap · racket · cabinet

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pit — a hole
  5. race — humankind
  6. roll — a cake
  7. roll — a list
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. fall — the season
  10. race — a contest
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cold — an illness
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. pit — in a race
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. fall — to drop
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. race — the arms race
  20. snap — to click
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. fall — to drop
  23. racket — for tennis
  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