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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: pitch · temple · last · march · race · mate · mine · lean

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. last — finally
  8. march — the month
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. last — to go on
  11. lean — to bend
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mate — to breed
  14. race — the arms race
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. race — humankind
  17. last — final
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. pitch — completely
  20. march — music
  21. lean — thin
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. march — the month
  24. race — a contest

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