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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: race · toast · stand · kid · squash · pitch · file · bass

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. bass — the fish
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. race — a contest
  10. toast — bread
  11. race — the arms race
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. file — a document
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bass — low music
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. file — a line of people
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. kid — child
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. file — a tool
  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