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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: bank · race · pit · rash · kick · bat · ground · sharp

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. kick — in football
  3. bat — the animal
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bank — for money
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — of a river
  13. race — humankind
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. pit — in a race
  16. rash — a series
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. ground — the earth
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. rash — hasty
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — a contest

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