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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: wound · chip · scale · pit · band · racket · hide · content

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. band — a ring
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. pit — in a race
  9. chip — to eat
  10. content — happy
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. pit — a hole
  13. wound — an injury
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. chip — for betting
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. band — a music group
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. content — the amount

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