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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: cold · pitch · bay · squash · suit · land · spell · bass

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. land — ground
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. spell — letters
  7. suit — to fit
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. suit — clothes
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pitch — completely
  19. cold — not warm
  20. suit — in cards
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. bass — low music
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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