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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. mug — a cup
  3. spell — a short time
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. squash — the sport
  7. mug — to rob
  8. capital — money
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. tube — the underground
  11. spell — magic
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. tube — a container
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bat — the animal
  17. mug — a face
  18. capital — a city
  19. squash — to crush
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. spell — letters

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