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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 120 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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. capital — a city
  4. spell — letters
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. spring — a coil
  7. can — to be able to
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. spell — magic
  10. court — for sport
  11. spring — of water
  12. capital — money
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rule — a law
  20. spring — the season
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. can — a tin
  23. rule — government
  24. can — a tin

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