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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. last — final
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. spell — magic
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a committee
  8. squash — the sport
  9. last — to go on
  10. capital — money
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. wound — an injury
  13. capital — a city
  14. foot — a measure
  15. wound — an injury
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. last — finally
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. content — the amount
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. content — happy
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. foot — the bottom

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