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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: stand · kid · hand · club · tear · pitch · last · present

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. kid — to tease
  4. present — there
  5. hand — help
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pitch — completely
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. club — for golf
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. present — a gift
  13. club — for dancing
  14. hand — in cards
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. club — a group
  18. kid — child
  19. tear — to rip
  20. last — finally
  21. present — the time now
  22. last — final
  23. stand — to bear
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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