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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 124 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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cap — a lid
  7. pound — a weight
  8. squash — to crush
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — completely
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pound — to hit hard

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