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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. can — to be able to
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. capital — money
  6. march — music
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. march — the month
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. ground — the earth
  11. can — a tin
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. ground — crushed
  16. march — the month
  17. ground — a position
  18. can — a tin
  19. chair — a leader
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — a city
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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