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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. squash — to crush
  4. wound — an injury
  5. capital — money
  6. rock — a stone
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. capital — a city
  14. race — a contest
  15. rock — music
  16. wound — an injury
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. mark — a grade
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. race — humankind
  23. mark — a trace
  24. race — the arms race

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