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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: pitcher · nail · content · bass · squash · race · perch · kick

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. bass — low music
  3. content — the amount
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. squash — the sport
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. content — happy
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. kick — in football
  22. perch — the fish
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — a contest

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