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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: rule · stem · wound · race · lean · pitch · squash · board

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. race — humankind
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. stem — to come from
  10. race — the arms race
  11. board — to get on
  12. race — a contest
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. rule — government
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. squash — to crush
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. rule — a law

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