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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 116 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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cue — a signal
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. land — ground
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. capital — money
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mug — a face
  9. land — a country
  10. mug — a cup
  11. file — a tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. file — a line of people
  14. squash — to crush
  15. mug — to rob
  16. cue — a hint
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. mine — for digging
  19. land — to come down
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. capital — a city
  22. cue — for pool
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. file — a document

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