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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: squash · season · pitcher · deal · tear · calf · race · patient

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. season — in sport
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. squash — to crush
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. race — humankind
  11. tear — from crying
  12. race — a contest
  13. season — of the year
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. race — the arms race
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. tear — to rip
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. squash — the sport
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. deal — to handle

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