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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 120 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: nail · leaves · tear · game · straw · race · pitch · pound

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. race — the arms race
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. tear — from crying
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. tear — to rip
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. game — a match
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pitch — completely
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. race — humankind
  17. pound — a weight
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. tear — from crying
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. game — wild animals
  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