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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. cold — an illness
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. squash — to crush
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. squash — the sport
  13. stem — to come from
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. cold — not warm
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. prune — to trim

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