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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 · game · band · spell · squash · bat · bear · race

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. game — a match
  3. spell — letters
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — the arms race
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bat — the animal
  12. squash — to crush
  13. band — a music group
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — a short time
  16. race — a contest
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. squash — the sport
  19. band — a ring
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. pitch — a sports field

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