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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. capital — money
  3. band — a music group
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. current — happening now
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — hurry
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. current — of water
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. current — electric
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stem — to come from
  23. band — a ring
  24. capital — a city

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