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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wound — an injury
  4. field — for sport
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. race — the arms race
  9. field — a subject
  10. race — humankind
  11. field — farmland
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. squash — to crush
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. stand — to bear
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — low music
  19. race — a contest
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. lash — to lash out

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