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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. capital — money
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. board — to get on
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. squash — to crush
  13. march — music
  14. game — a match
  15. mine — for digging
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. squash — the sport
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. board — a committee
  21. capital — a city
  22. march — the month
  23. pass — a permit
  24. game — wild animals

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