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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: pitch · plane · bat · kid · race · present · pop · spell

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. spell — letters
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. present — the time now
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pop — soda
  9. spell — magic
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pop — to visit
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. plane — a tool
  14. present — a gift
  15. kid — child
  16. race — humankind
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. pop — music
  20. present — there
  21. race — a contest
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bat — the animal

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