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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: march · suit · game · race · tear · file · last · pitch

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. race — humankind
  4. suit — clothes
  5. pitch — completely
  6. game — a match
  7. file — a line of people
  8. suit — in cards
  9. file — a document
  10. race — a contest
  11. game — wild animals
  12. suit — to fit
  13. tear — to rip
  14. march — the month
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. last — final
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. file — a tool
  21. march — music
  22. last — to go on
  23. race — the arms race
  24. last — finally

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