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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: race · kick · cue · bat · land · pitch · ball · mouse

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. cue — for pool
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. race — humankind
  6. kick — in football
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cue — a hint
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. land — to come down
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cue — a signal
  14. land — ground
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. land — a country
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. race — the arms race
  21. ball — a great time
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. pitch — completely

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