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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: key · chest · rest · squash · staff · bat · race · pitcher

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — the sport
  4. race — a contest
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. rest — what's left
  7. squash — to crush
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. staff — a stick
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. key — in music
  13. key — for a lock
  14. chest — a box
  15. staff — employees
  16. key — the most important part
  17. staff — employees
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bat — the animal
  21. rest — what's left
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. race — humankind

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