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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: snap · squash · ground · race · shower · roll · pitcher · bat

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. race — a contest
  3. roll — a cake
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. shower — rain
  6. roll — a list
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. shower — to wash
  9. snap — to click
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bat — the animal
  14. ground — crushed
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. race — humankind
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — the earth
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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