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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 116 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: bat · race · squash · bass · fall · kid · nail · pitcher

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. fall — to drop
  4. squash — to crush
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bass — the fish
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kid — child
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bat — the animal
  13. race — the arms race
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. race — humankind
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. bass — low music
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. race — a contest
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fall — to drop

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