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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. can — to be able to
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. present — a gift
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. capital — money
  12. can — a tin
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. swing — music
  15. squash — to crush
  16. present — the time now
  17. swing — to play on
  18. can — a tin
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. present — there
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — a safe
  23. capital — a city
  24. squash — the sport

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