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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. race — a contest
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. race — humankind
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. race — the arms race
  10. last — finally
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mug — to rob
  13. content — happy
  14. mug — a face
  15. content — the amount
  16. wound — an injury
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mug — a cup
  19. rash — a series
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — completely
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. rash — hasty

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