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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. squash — to crush
  3. prune — to trim
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. spell — a short time
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — in sport
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. race — humankind
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. squash — the sport
  14. spell — magic
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. spell — letters
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. capital — a city
  22. net — for catching
  23. perch — for a bird
  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