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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. fork — in a road
  8. spell — letters
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cue — a signal
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. rush — hurry
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. capital — money
  20. cue — for pool
  21. capital — a city
  22. spell — magic
  23. cue — a hint
  24. fork — to eat with

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