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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: race · squash · field · straw · cap · suit · bat · fan

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. race — a contest
  3. squash — to crush
  4. suit — clothes
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cap — a hat
  9. race — the arms race
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. suit — to fit
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. suit — in cards
  19. race — humankind
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. field — farmland
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bat — the animal

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