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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. current — happening now
  4. bear — the animal
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. current — electric
  7. wake — a trail
  8. capital — a city
  9. current — of water
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. saw — the tool
  17. field — farmland
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. saw — the tool
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. capital — money
  23. squash — to crush
  24. wake — before a funeral

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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