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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: pit · squash · rush · board · bat · mine · ball · ground

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — the sport
  3. pit — in a race
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pit — a hole
  9. ground — a position
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bat — the animal
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. ball — a great time
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. ground — crushed
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rush — hurry
  19. mine — for digging
  20. ball — a dance
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. board — a committee
  23. ground — the earth
  24. board — to get on

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