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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: squash · pitch · deal · foot · cold · rash · game · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. foot — a measure
  3. squash — the sport
  4. rash — hasty
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. game — a match
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. squash — to crush
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. track — a song
  16. rash — a series
  17. pitch — completely
  18. game — wild animals
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. cold — an illness
  22. track — to keep track
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. pitch — a sports field

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