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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. rash — hasty
  7. mate — to breed
  8. race — a contest
  9. rash — a series
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. stock — goods
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. race — the arms race
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — a partner
  19. pitch — completely
  20. race — humankind
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wake — a trail

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