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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 · net · cabinet · race · drill · clip · cold · pit

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. net — in sport
  4. suit — to fit
  5. clip — a video
  6. race — humankind
  7. drill — a practice
  8. pit — in a race
  9. suit — in cards
  10. drill — army training
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. net — for catching
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. suit — clothes
  15. clip — to cut
  16. drill — the tool
  17. race — a contest
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. pit — a hole
  20. net — after costs
  21. clip — for paper
  22. race — the arms race
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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