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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. capital — a city
  3. cue — a signal
  4. season — in sport
  5. spell — magic
  6. capital — money
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. land — a country
  9. season — of the year
  10. land — ground
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cue — for pool
  14. bank — for money
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. land — to come down
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bank — of a river
  22. spell — letters
  23. squash — the sport
  24. bank — for 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