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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. squash — the sport
  6. rush — hurry
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. march — the month
  10. capital — a city
  11. march — the month
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. ground — a position
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. capital — money
  18. squash — to crush
  19. board — a committee
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. board — to get on
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cap — of ice
  24. rush — a thrill

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