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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. capital — a city
  3. squash — the sport
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. snap — to click
  7. mug — a cup
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. capital — money
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. mug — a face
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. date — the fruit
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pitch — completely
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pass — a permit
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. mug — to rob
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. date — on the calendar

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