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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: rush · last · arm · saw · race · mine · pitch · club

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pitch — completely
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. race — a contest
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. club — a group
  11. race — the arms race
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. club — for dancing
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. last — final
  16. rush — hurry
  17. last — finally
  18. saw — the tool
  19. race — humankind
  20. club — for golf
  21. last — to go on
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. saw — the tool

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