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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. capital — money
  3. squash — to crush
  4. roll — a cake
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. drill — army training
  9. rule — government
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. capital — a city
  13. bass — low music
  14. march — the month
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — the tool
  17. rule — a law
  18. march — the month
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bass — the fish
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a list
  23. march — music
  24. capital — a big letter

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