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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 120 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: suit · pitcher · squash · patient · race · pop · fan · land

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. squash — the sport
  5. land — to come down
  6. suit — in cards
  7. pop — to visit
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. squash — to crush
  11. land — a country
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. land — ground
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pop — music
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pop — soda
  23. suit — to fit
  24. suit — clothes

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