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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. current — happening now
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. rule — a law
  6. capital — money
  7. squash — the sport
  8. dip — to sink
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rule — government
  12. land — ground
  13. capital — a city
  14. current — electric
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. land — a country
  17. wound — an injury
  18. current — of water
  19. land — to come down
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. sharp — with an edge

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