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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. land — ground
  3. capital — a city
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. roll — a cake
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. squash — the sport
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. land — a country
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. land — to come down
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. squash — to crush
  19. capital — money
  20. roll — a list
  21. shower — rain
  22. wound — an injury
  23. shower — to wash
  24. ruler — a monarch

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