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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: rash · wind · bark · racket · drill · pit · race · pitcher

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — humankind
  4. wind — moving air
  5. drill — the tool
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pit — a hole
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — a series
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. wind — moving air
  21. race — a contest
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pit — in a race
  24. drill — army training

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