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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: race · jam · temple · mine · pitch · fall · stand · kid

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pitch — completely
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. kid — child
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. fall — the season
  18. race — the arms race
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. stand — to bear
  22. race — a contest
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. stand — for spectators

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