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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: fork · pass · pitch · bat · race · snap

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. race — a contest
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pass — a permit
  6. fork — in a road
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bat — the animal
  9. race — humankind
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. pass — to succeed

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