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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: stand · last · dip · kid · trunk · land · pitch · rash

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. last — to go on
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. land — a country
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. pitch — completely
  14. land — to come down
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. last — final
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. dip — to sink
  19. rash — a series
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. last — finally
  22. land — ground
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. stand — to bear

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