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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · bat · pitch · wind · race · cue

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. pitch — completely
  3. cue — for pool
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — a contest
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cue — a signal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bat — the animal
  14. kid — child
  15. race — humankind
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. cue — a hint
  18. wind — moving air

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