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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cell — in biology
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — to get on
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. plane — a tool
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. capital — a city
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. last — to go on
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. last — finally
  18. ground — the earth
  19. squash — to crush
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — crushed
  22. last — final
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. capital — money

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