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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. capital — money
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. court — for sport
  6. tube — a container
  7. rash — hasty
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. court — of law
  11. rash — a series
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. roll — a list
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. roll — a cake
  16. court — of a king
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. rest — a break
  20. squash — the sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. squash — to crush
  23. capital — a city
  24. rest — what's left

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