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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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. squash — to crush
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a dance
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. snap — to click
  9. ball — a great time
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. squash — the sport
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. capital — a city
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. stem — to come from
  20. face — part of the head
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — to point toward
  23. stem — of a plant
  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