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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. drill — the tool
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. spell — magic
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. squash — the sport
  10. plane — a tool
  11. drill — a practice
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. chair — a leader
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — in music
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. spell — letters
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. drill — army training

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