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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cap — a lid
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. cap — of ice
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. capital — money
  12. rule — a law
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. capital — a city
  15. shower — to wash
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. rule — government
  18. squash — to crush
  19. fork — in a road
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. cap — a hat
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. kick — in football

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