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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. scale — size or range
  3. pit — in a race
  4. capital — money
  5. mine — for digging
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. squash — the sport
  9. shower — rain
  10. capital — a city
  11. scale — in music
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. squash — to crush
  16. mug — a cup
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. mug — a face
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pit — a hole
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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