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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. capital — a city
  4. shower — to wash
  5. ball — a great time
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. wind — moving air
  9. shower — rain
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bear — the animal
  12. capital — money
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bear — the animal
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. ball — a dance
  18. capital — a big letter

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