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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: court · pass · race · foot · tear · squash · spring · pitch

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. squash — to crush
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. tear — from crying
  5. race — humankind
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. spring — of water
  8. court — of law
  9. tear — to rip
  10. race — the arms race
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. court — for sport
  13. race — a contest
  14. spring — a coil
  15. foot — a measure
  16. squash — the sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. pass — a permit
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. court — of a king
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. tear — from crying

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