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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. charge — a price
  3. fine — high quality
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cell — a phone
  6. net — after costs
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pitch — completely
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. fine — all right
  15. cell — in biology
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. net — in sport
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. charge — in control
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. charge — electricity

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