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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. capital — money
  3. squash — the sport
  4. current — electric
  5. scale — size or range
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. swing — music
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. cold — not warm
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. current — happening now
  15. cold — an illness
  16. capital — a city
  17. current — of water
  18. scale — in music
  19. cap — a lid
  20. swing — to play on
  21. cap — of ice
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. swing — in golf
  24. scale — for weighing

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