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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.

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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: squash · race · bat · content · pitch · fine · staff · tear

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. tear — from crying
  4. race — humankind
  5. content — the amount
  6. squash — to crush
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. fine — high quality
  9. pitch — completely
  10. race — the arms race
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fine — all right
  13. staff — employees
  14. tear — from crying
  15. staff — employees
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. staff — a stick
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. content — happy
  24. squash — the sport

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