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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. squash — to crush
  4. scale — size or range
  5. cap — a hat
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bass — the fish
  9. last — final
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. last — finally
  13. capital — a city
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. last — to go on
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bass — low music
  20. squash — the sport
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. cap — a lid
  23. scale — in music
  24. capital — money

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