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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. wind — moving air
  3. capital — a city
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. root — the cause
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bear — the animal
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. content — happy
  13. capital — money
  14. root — of a word
  15. content — the amount
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. root — of a plant
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. squash — the sport
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. wind — moving air
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bear — the animal

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