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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: wound · pitch · mouse · race · rest · kid · wave · last

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. last — final
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. last — to go on
  7. race — a contest
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. rest — a break
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pitch — completely
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. race — humankind
  21. kid — child
  22. rest — what's left
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. last — finally

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