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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. capital — a city
  3. field — for sport
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. club — for dancing
  8. capital — money
  9. club — for golf
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. field — a subject
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — to crush
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. field — farmland
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. club — a group
  18. fan — a supporter

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