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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: kid · pitcher · sharp · race · tube · mark · mate · toast

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mark — a trace
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mate — a friend
  8. toast — bread
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mark — a grade
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. tube — the underground
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. race — humankind
  18. sharp — clever
  19. tube — a container
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. kid — child
  23. race — a contest
  24. sharp — with an edge

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