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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cap — of ice
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. swing — to play on
  7. capital — a city
  8. swing — music
  9. squash — the sport
  10. scale — in music
  11. rash — a series
  12. cap — a hat
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. squash — to crush
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mine — for digging
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. cap — a lid
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. scale — size or range
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. swing — in golf

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