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

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. land — ground
  4. bank — for money
  5. race — humankind
  6. bank — for money
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. race — a contest
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a list
  12. pitch — completely
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. race — the arms race
  18. clip — for paper
  19. land — to come down
  20. roll — a cake
  21. clip — a video
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. land — a country
  24. bank — of a river

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