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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. race — the arms race
  5. drill — a practice
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. plane — a tool
  9. race — a contest
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rush — hurry
  16. race — humankind
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. drill — the tool
  19. pitch — completely
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. drill — army training
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. trunk — of a car

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