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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 120 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: deal · rush · race · clip · pitch · band · arm · lash

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. clip — a video
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. race — humankind
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. deal — to handle
  15. clip — for paper
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. clip — to cut
  20. band — a ring
  21. pitch — completely
  22. race — the arms race
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. band — a music group

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