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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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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. capital — a city
  5. squash — the sport
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bulb — for light
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. root — of a word
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bulb — for light
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. capital — money
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — the cause
  18. temple — side of the head

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