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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: vault · patient · pitch · race · bat · plane · straw · rash

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. plane — a tool
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. vault — a safe
  7. rash — hasty
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. race — humankind
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. race — a contest
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pitch — completely
  24. race — the arms race

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