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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 120 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. saw — the tool
  3. pop — music
  4. mug — a face
  5. squash — to crush
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. capital — money
  10. pop — soda
  11. cap — a hat
  12. saw — the tool
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. march — the month
  18. capital — a city
  19. mug — to rob
  20. cap — a lid
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mug — a cup
  23. cap — of ice
  24. pop — to visit

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