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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. squash — the sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. can — a tin
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. kid — to tease
  7. season — of the year
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — a trail
  10. squash — to crush
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. hand — in cards
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pass — a permit
  16. kid — child
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. season — in sport
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pass — to succeed

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