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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. cap — of ice
  3. rest — what's left
  4. last — final
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — a lid
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. last — to go on
  9. rest — a break
  10. squash — the sport
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. spring — the season
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. current — of water
  15. rest — what's left
  16. spring — a coil
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. court — of a king
  19. current — electric
  20. current — happening now
  21. spring — of water
  22. court — for sport
  23. last — finally
  24. court — of law

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