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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bat — the animal
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — a trace
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. capital — money
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. capital — a city
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. can — a tin
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — music
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. can — to be able to
  22. scale — in music
  23. can — a tin
  24. rock — a stone

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