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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 · staff · cabinet · kick · mine · pound · bat · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. race — the arms race
  5. staff — employees
  6. race — humankind
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. kick — in football
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. staff — employees
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. staff — a stick
  18. squash — to crush
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bat — the animal
  24. race — a contest

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