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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stand — to bear
  12. perch — the fish
  13. mark — a grade
  14. hand — in cards
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. hand — help
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mark — a trace
  22. pitch — completely
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. stand — on your feet

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