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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: drill · spell · race · deal · wind · squash · pitcher · mine

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. spell — letters
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. squash — the sport
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — magic
  11. wind — moving air
  12. race — a contest
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. drill — army training
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. race — humankind
  24. deal — to handle

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