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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: field · pitcher · toast · stick · nail · capital · race · last

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. field — for sport
  5. last — final
  6. toast — bread
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. last — to go on
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. race — the arms race
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. last — finally
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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