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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: fork · race · date · scale · content · capital · pitcher · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. fork — in a road
  3. capital — money
  4. race — humankind
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. scale — in music
  7. capital — a city
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. scale — size or range
  10. race — a contest
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. squash — the sport
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. date — the fruit
  18. content — happy
  19. race — the arms race
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. squash — to crush
  24. scale — for weighing

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