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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. branch — a division
  9. capital — a city
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. capital — money
  12. last — final
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. club — a group
  15. club — for dancing
  16. last — to go on
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. club — for golf
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. last — finally
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pass — a permit
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. chair — a professorship

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