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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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Word bank
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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: deal · rush · ruler · pitch · race · squash

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. race — the arms race
  5. squash — to crush
  6. race — humankind
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. race — a contest
  9. rush — hurry
  10. squash — the sport
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. pitch — completely
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. deal — to handle
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. rush — a thrill

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