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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 116 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. capital — a city
  3. snap — to click
  4. capital — money
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the sport
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chip — for betting
  17. tear — from crying
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. tear — from crying
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. chip — to eat

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