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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. last — final
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — hurry
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. squash — the sport
  10. fork — in a road
  11. mark — a grade
  12. last — finally
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mark — a trace
  16. squash — to crush
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. last — to go on
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — on a finger

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