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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. capital — a city
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. capital — money
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. foot — a measure
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. cold — not warm
  19. board — to get on
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. board — a committee
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — an illness

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