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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: land · lash · spring · wake · swing · pitch · race · squash

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. spring — the season
  3. land — to come down
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. swing — in golf
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — a contest
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. land — a country
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. spring — of water
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. race — humankind
  18. squash — the sport
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. swing — to play on
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. land — ground
  23. swing — music
  24. wake — before a funeral

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