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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 · last · rock · present · hide · pitcher · clip · hand

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. last — to go on
  5. race — a contest
  6. last — finally
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. clip — to cut
  9. last — final
  10. hand — help
  11. race — the arms race
  12. present — there
  13. present — the time now
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. clip — for paper
  17. race — humankind
  18. hand — in cards
  19. rock — a stone
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. present — a gift
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. clip — a video

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