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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: pitch · rule · nail · race · fall · kid

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. rule — a law
  7. kid — child
  8. fall — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — humankind
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. race — a contest
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. rule — government
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. nail — for a hammer

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