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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cap — a hat
  4. rest — what's left
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. rest — a break
  9. lean — thin
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. club — for dancing
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. club — for golf
  15. field — farmland
  16. capital — a city
  17. lean — to bend
  18. cap — a lid
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. club — a group
  22. rest — what's left
  23. capital — money
  24. nail — for a hammer

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