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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: clip · race · game · squash · pitch · lash · court · patient

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. race — the arms race
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pitch — completely
  7. squash — to crush
  8. race — a contest
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. clip — for paper
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. clip — a video
  16. game — a match
  17. squash — the sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. race — humankind
  20. court — for sport
  21. clip — to cut
  22. game — wild animals
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. court — of law

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