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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. pop — to visit
  3. rush — hurry
  4. spring — a coil
  5. pop — soda
  6. rule — government
  7. pop — music
  8. rule — a law
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. spring — the season
  11. lie — to recline
  12. prune — to trim
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. spring — of water
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — a city
  21. prune — to trim
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. squash — the sport

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