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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 · board · stick

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

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. squash — the sport
  4. race — humankind
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — to crush
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a committee
  9. swing — music
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bat — the animal
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. race — a contest
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. race — the arms race
  24. date — on the calendar

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