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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: race · mate · rock · rest · pitcher · game · date · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. rest — a break
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rock — a stone
  8. mate — a partner
  9. wind — moving air
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rock — music
  14. game — wild animals
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wind — moving air
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mate — a friend
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. race — humankind
  23. mate — to breed
  24. pitcher — a jug

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