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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. march — the month
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. field — a subject
  7. squash — the sport
  8. roll — a list
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. field — for sport
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. march — music
  14. field — farmland
  15. capital — a city
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. branch — a division
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. march — the month
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. capital — money
  24. roll — a cake

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