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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. kid — child
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. game — wild animals
  11. ball — a dance
  12. pitch — completely
  13. deal — to handle
  14. tube — a container
  15. game — a match
  16. race — the arms race
  17. kid — to tease
  18. race — humankind
  19. ball — a great time
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. clip — to cut
  22. tube — the underground
  23. race — a contest
  24. pitch — a sports field

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