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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: rest · last · land · race · hide · pitch · mine · deal

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. land — to come down
  4. pitch — completely
  5. land — ground
  6. rest — what's left
  7. last — to go on
  8. land — a country
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. last — finally
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. last — final
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. rest — what's left
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. rest — a break
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. race — humankind
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — to handle
  24. pitch — a sports field

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