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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. row — to paddle
  7. squash — the sport
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. sharp — clever
  11. tube — a container
  12. capital — a city
  13. bear — the animal
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. tear — from crying
  17. capital — money
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bear — the animal
  20. row — a line
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. tear — from crying
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. tube — the underground

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