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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: squash · bass · wind · deal · can · pitch · shower · field

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. wind — moving air
  6. field — farmland
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. can — to be able to
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. bass — low music
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pitch — completely
  17. bass — the fish
  18. wind — moving air
  19. can — a tin
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. squash — to crush
  23. can — a tin
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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