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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: pit · fine · race · march · kid · straw

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fine — all right
  5. pit — a hole
  6. fine — high quality
  7. kid — child
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. race — the arms race
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. race — a contest
  14. march — the month
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. kid — to tease
  17. race — humankind
  18. pit — in a race

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