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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 · toast · stand · kid · squash · pitch

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — a contest
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. toast — bread
  8. stand — to bear
  9. kid — to tease
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the sport
  18. race — humankind

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