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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 116 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. race — the arms race
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pit — a hole
  5. race — humankind
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. race — a contest
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. object — to protest
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. game — a match
  18. wake — a trail
  19. object — an aim
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. pit — in a race
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. object — a thing
  24. calf — a young animal

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