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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: race · straw · present · wound · pitcher · pit · prune · chip

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. prune — to trim
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pit — a hole
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. race — the arms race
  10. present — a gift
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. present — the time now
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. present — there
  20. chip — to eat
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — in a race
  23. race — humankind
  24. chip — for betting

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