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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: season · pitch · kick · tear · current · race · stick · hand

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. season — in sport
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. race — a contest
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. race — the arms race
  7. current — electric
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. current — of water
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — completely
  14. race — humankind
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. tear — to rip
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. season — of the year
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. current — happening now

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