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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: clip · race · can · kid · ground · pit · pitcher · march

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. race — humankind
  5. ground — a position
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — for paper
  10. ground — the earth
  11. march — the month
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. can — a tin
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. ground — crushed
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. clip — to cut

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