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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 120 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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. net — in sport
  3. race — a contest
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — for catching
  6. pitch — completely
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. hand — in cards
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. ball — a great time
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. squash — the sport
  14. band — a music group
  15. squash — to crush
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. race — humankind
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. hand — help
  23. band — a ring
  24. ball — a dance

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