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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: squash · capital · mate · chest · march · snap · fan · ruler

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. snap — to click
  3. mate — a partner
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. squash — to crush
  8. chest — a box
  9. mate — to breed
  10. march — music
  11. capital — a city
  12. mate — a friend
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. capital — money
  16. squash — the sport
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fan — to cool the air

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