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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitch · rash · straw · cold · key · ball · file · squash

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. key — the most important part
  4. squash — to crush
  5. key — in music
  6. file — a tool
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. key — for a lock
  10. file — a document
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pitch — completely
  15. ball — a dance
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. squash — the sport
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rash — hasty
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. file — a line of people
  24. ball — a great time

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