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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. capital — a city
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. capital — money
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — the sport
  12. mate — a partner
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. row — to paddle
  15. deal — to handle
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. clip — a video
  18. game — a match
  19. clip — to cut
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. mate — to breed
  23. row — a line
  24. game — a kind of play

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