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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. net — in sport
  3. capital — a city
  4. mug — a face
  5. mug — to rob
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. row — a line
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. net — after costs
  12. sharp — clever
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — to crush
  15. mug — a cup
  16. capital — money
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. toast — bread
  21. date — the fruit
  22. row — to paddle
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. net — for catching

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