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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. rush — hurry
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. race — humankind
  8. kid — child
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. kid — to tease
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. hand — help
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. season — in sport
  19. pitch — completely
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. race — a contest
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. hand — in cards
  24. race — the arms race

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