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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 · sharp · perch · rash · straw · cap · race · drill

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. drill — army training
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. race — humankind
  5. sharp — clever
  6. cap — of ice
  7. rash — a series
  8. race — a contest
  9. rash — hasty
  10. cap — a hat
  11. squash — the sport
  12. cap — a lid
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. drill — a practice
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. drill — the tool
  23. race — the arms race
  24. straw — a straw man

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