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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: hand · pit · wound · pitch · squash · race · mark · content

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. race — humankind
  3. squash — the sport
  4. mark — a trace
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pitch — completely
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. hand — help
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wound — an injury
  17. content — the amount
  18. wound — an injury
  19. race — a contest
  20. mark — a grade
  21. race — the arms race
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. pitch — a sports field

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