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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rash — a series
  3. rock — a stone
  4. capital — a city
  5. last — to go on
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — music
  8. shower — to wash
  9. capital — money
  10. last — finally
  11. squash — to crush
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. court — for sport
  20. rash — hasty
  21. last — final
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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