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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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Word bank
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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: pitch · pound · tube · cold · squash · rush · spell · pit

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. tube — the underground
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pound — a weight
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. rush — hurry
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — completely
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. tube — a container
  24. spell — letters

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