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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: wave · file · cell · ball · pitch · saw · tear · squash

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. cell — a phone
  3. file — a line of people
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a great time
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. squash — the sport
  10. cell — in biology
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. file — a document
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. file — a tool
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cell — in a prison
  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