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

Word bank: present · fall · squash · club · wound · race

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. present — the time now
  3. club — for dancing
  4. fall — the season
  5. present — a gift
  6. fall — to drop
  7. squash — to crush
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. club — a group
  11. club — for golf
  12. wound — an injury
  13. race — humankind
  14. wound — an injury
  15. present — there
  16. race — a contest
  17. squash — the sport
  18. race — the arms race

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