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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 · kick · cell · plane · drill · hand · rush · race

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. drill — a practice
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — a contest
  6. cell — in biology
  7. drill — army training
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. hand — in cards
  10. race — humankind
  11. rush — hurry
  12. kick — in football
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cell — a phone
  20. plane — a tool
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. drill — the tool

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