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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · capital · date · fall · net · bear · lean · squash

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. lean — thin
  3. bear — the animal
  4. net — after costs
  5. game — wild animals
  6. capital — money
  7. bear — the animal
  8. net — in sport
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. squash — the sport
  11. game — a match
  12. net — for catching
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. squash — to crush
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. date — the fruit
  22. capital — a city
  23. fall — the season
  24. lean — to bend

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