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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. root — of a word
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. pitch — completely
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. root — the cause
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bat — the animal
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. root — of a plant
  19. race — a contest
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — low music
  22. fall — to drop
  23. race — humankind
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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