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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.

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: race · shower · land · pitch · ruler · squash · fan · track

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. race — a contest
  12. land — to come down
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. track — a song
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. pitch — completely
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. race — the arms race
  22. squash — the sport
  23. shower — rain
  24. race — humankind

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