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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's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. cap — of ice
  3. race — the arms race
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bat — the animal
  8. kid — child
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. cap — a lid
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. scale — in music
  16. race — a contest
  17. scale — size or range
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. race — humankind
  20. cap — a hat
  21. pitch — completely
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bat — in an idiom

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