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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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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: cell · pitch · race · squash · board · kid · stand · straw

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. race — humankind
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. cell — a phone
  5. squash — to crush
  6. stand — to bear
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. squash — the sport
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. race — a contest
  15. kid — child
  16. board — to get on
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pitch — completely
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. kid — to tease
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. cell — in biology
  24. board — a flat piece

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