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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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Word bank
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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: stand · race · mine · kick · spell · pitch · fall · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pop — to visit
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. fall — the season
  6. race — humankind
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. pop — soda
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spell — letters
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. fall — to drop
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. stand — to bear
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. pitch — completely
  20. spell — magic
  21. race — a contest
  22. kick — in football
  23. spell — a short time
  24. race — the arms 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