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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. field — a subject
  4. race — humankind
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. squash — to crush
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. field — for sport
  11. race — a contest
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. race — the arms race
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. field — farmland
  17. squash — the sport
  18. pitch — completely

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