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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. capital — a city
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. mug — to rob
  7. squash — to crush
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. bat — the animal
  15. march — music
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. march — the month
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. march — the month
  21. bulb — for light
  22. squash — the sport
  23. capital — money
  24. mug — a cup

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