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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
468
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: saw · squash · race · patient · perch · track · fall · pitcher

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. track — a song
  5. race — a contest
  6. track — a path
  7. perch — the fish
  8. fall — to drop
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. race — the arms race
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. squash — to crush
  14. track — to keep track
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. fall — the season
  18. saw — the tool
  19. fall — to drop
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. race — humankind

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