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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mark — a trace
  4. rash — hasty
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. game — a match
  7. mark — a grade
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. squash — the sport
  13. land — a country
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. lean — to bend
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. game — wild animals
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. lean — thin
  21. squash — to crush
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rash — a series
  24. lean — to rest against

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