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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: wound · toast · game · rock · cold · pit · pop · wake

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pit — a hole
  5. game — a match
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. pop — music
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. pop — to visit
  11. toast — bread
  12. rock — music
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. cold — an illness
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pop — soda
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wake — a trail
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. rock — a stone
  24. game — wild animals

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