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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. field — farmland
  3. squash — the sport
  4. capital — a city
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. hand — help
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. club — for dancing
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — a leader
  12. capital — money
  13. club — for golf
  14. field — a subject
  15. club — a group
  16. field — for sport
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. squash — the vegetable

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