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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 120 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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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 · stock · squash · kid · rule · snap · pitch · rash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. rash — a series
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. squash — the sport
  7. stock — shares
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. race — humankind
  10. rash — hasty
  11. snap — to click
  12. kid — child
  13. pitch — completely
  14. kid — to tease
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — a law
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. race — a contest
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. race — the arms race

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