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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rock — a stone
  8. pop — music
  9. squash — the sport
  10. land — a country
  11. wind — moving air
  12. land — ground
  13. pop — soda
  14. capital — money
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. capital — a city
  17. squash — to crush
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. pop — to visit
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. rock — music
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. land — to come down

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