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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. land — ground
  3. squash — the sport
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — in control
  6. capital — money
  7. last — finally
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. land — to come down
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. band — a music group
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. charge — electricity
  22. bulb — for light
  23. band — a ring
  24. land — a country

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