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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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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: snap · mate · bulb · race · kid · rash · march · pitch

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to click
  3. pitch — completely
  4. bulb — for light
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. kid — child
  8. march — music
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. race — the arms race
  11. kid — to tease
  12. race — a contest
  13. mate — a friend
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. mate — to breed
  19. race — humankind
  20. mate — a partner
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bulb — for light
  24. rash — a series

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