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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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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 · race · kick · club · board · squash · hide · spring

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. club — for dancing
  4. board — to get on
  5. squash — the sport
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. board — a committee
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. race — humankind
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. club — for golf
  13. spring — the season
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. kick — in football
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. race — a contest
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. race — the arms race
  20. squash — to crush
  21. spring — of water
  22. club — a group
  23. spring — a coil
  24. hide — to keep secret

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