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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 120 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 · bore · racket · hand · pop · pitch · game · file

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. pop — music
  3. file — a tool
  4. pitch — completely
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bore — to tire
  7. pop — to visit
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pop — soda
  13. game — wild animals
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. game — a match
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to drill
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. file — a document
  24. hand — help

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