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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: pitcher · chair · field · bat · board · race · mouse · squash

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. squash — to crush
  3. board — to get on
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. bat — the animal
  18. field — for sport
  19. race — the arms race
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. chair — a leader
  24. mouse — the animal

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