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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 116 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: race · straw · object · sharp · pitch · snap · last · cap

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cap — of ice
  3. last — final
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. last — finally
  6. object — a thing
  7. object — an aim
  8. last — to go on
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. snap — to click
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cap — a lid
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. sharp — clever
  17. race — a contest
  18. object — to protest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. pitch — completely
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. cap — a hat

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