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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. prune — to trim
  4. capital — a city
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. spring — of water
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. spring — the season
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. fine — high quality
  15. saw — the tool
  16. spring — a coil
  17. deal — to handle
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. saw — the tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. fine — all right
  24. fine — a penalty

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