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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. capital — a city
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. branch — a division
  5. mate — to breed
  6. court — of a king
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. mate — a friend
  10. rock — music
  11. court — of law
  12. rock — a stone
  13. dip — to sink
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. court — for sport
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. squash — to crush
  21. mate — a partner
  22. band — a ring
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. capital — money

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