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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 116 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: squash · racket · snap · fall · wound · band · pitch · deal

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. squash — to crush
  3. squash — the sport
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. fall — the season
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. fall — to drop
  8. band — a ring
  9. fall — to drop
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. deal — to handle
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to click
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. band — a music group
  24. wound — an injury

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