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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: file · race · stick · kid · land · pitch · last · pit

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. file — a line of people
  3. race — the arms race
  4. last — final
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pit — in a race
  7. land — a country
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. race — a contest
  13. file — a tool
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. land — ground
  16. pit — a hole
  17. land — to come down
  18. race — humankind
  19. file — a document
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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