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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: racket · perch · safe · pitch · race · rock · spring · kid

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. rock — music
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. race — a contest
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. rock — a stone
  13. race — humankind
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. pitch — completely
  20. perch — the fish
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. race — the arms race
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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