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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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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 · game · row · arm · pop · squash · pit · rush

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. rush — hurry
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. row — a line
  6. pit — a hole
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. pop — to visit
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. squash — the sport
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. pop — soda
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pitch — completely
  21. game — a match
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. pop — music

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