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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. sharp — clever
  3. stand — to bear
  4. present — a gift
  5. squash — to crush
  6. tear — from crying
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. present — the time now
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. capital — a city
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. present — there
  14. prune — to trim
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. tear — from crying
  19. prune — to trim
  20. vault — a safe
  21. tear — to rip
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. capital — money
  24. stand — for spectators

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