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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · date · squash · bat · nail · swing

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. swing — music
  3. race — the arms race
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. race — humankind
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bat — the animal
  17. race — a contest
  18. date — the fruit

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